Five Dysfunctions of a Team

What?

In our class, “Elements of Team Leadership”, we are required to complete a service learning project within our teams. My team decided to help promote a new non-profit organization called Feed by Seed. The goals of this organization include providing agriculture sponsorship to countries worldwide, fundraising for food, and providing countries with education they need regarding agriculture. The organization is also planning a trip to Nicaragua in July of this year. In order to promote the organization, we spread the word around campus. We set up booths, passed out fliers, and answered questions regarding the missions and goals of the organization.

So What?

Our team had to demonstrate effective teamwork to make our project a success. We spent hours planning the event and organizing the tasks we needed to accomplish. For our project to be successful, it was important for our team to overcome the five dysfunctions that teams frequently encounter. According to Patrick Lencioni, the five dysfunctions teams must conquer include absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.

My team and I have spent the whole semester working to overcome these five dysfunctions. Our increasing connections between each other have helped build a foundation of trust. For example, we were able to rely on other team members to read their respective sections for the RAT’s to ensure a good grade as a group. Fear of conflict is another dysfunction that causes many problems within teams. Successful communication and our choice to agree to disagree on certain issues helped our team make progress toward conquering the fear of conflict. Learning to use constructive criticism and being able to discuss conflicts is a key component of teamwork. Lack of commitment is something that our team has struggled to overcome this semester. When one person isn’t committed to the team it makes it hard for the whole team to be fully committed.

Now What?

For the rest of the semester our team needs to focus on motivating everyone to be committed. When one person doesn’t show up to class for a team RAT or does not communicate that they cannot make it to meetings, it causes issues for the team as a whole. In our group, we do not have confidence in the one member who is not committed. One way to overcome this dysfunction is to clarify the team goals and obligations. If all team members have clarity on their expectations, it will help the team in the long run. According to Lencioni, this suggestion is known as cascading messaging. At the end of meetings we need to specifically point out the duties of each person to make sure everyone is on the same page. Clarity on deadlines is also an important step in order to achieve commitment. If the team can commit to deadlines, it will help us be more effective. Avoidance of accountability and inattention to results cannot be overcome until the team no longer lacks commitment.

Teams in Modern Organizations

What?

One of our assignments in "Elements of Team Leadership", was the Maroon-Orange Game. For this assignment Dr. Kaufman selected a leader for each project team in the class. We were only allowed to communicate with our team on scholar in the group forum section. Each team was paired with another team to conduct trades of either a maroon or orange card for each round. There were four rounds; the first three rounds only allowed communication within our team. For the final round, the team leaders were allowed to discuss the trade. Depending on which card was given and received, each team either gained or lost a certain amount of points.

So what?

As the leader of my team, it was my job to begin discussions on the group forum. According to Driskell, Radtke, and Salas, a virtual team is one whose member interactions are mediated by time, distance, and technology. With online communication the only type being allowed, we were considered a virtual team. Just as with any virtual team, there were advantages and disadvantages to the use of the internet for communication.

On one hand, using the group forum for discussion allows for anyone to have input any time they have a free moment. Not having to set up meeting times that work for everyone's busy schedule can help relieve stress on the group and make communication easier. On the other hand, the biggest disadvantage is that it can hurt the team when some members do not or cannot give their input. With a system like the group forums on scholar, internet access is required and motivation to post. In my project team, hours would sometimes pass before a post was answered leaving nothing to do but wait between posts. One member was unable to comment in any round, which made it impossible to have full cooperation.

Now what?

In future projects with virtual teams, we need to find solutions to make the group more efficient. If my team was able to communicate in other ways than through scholar, we could have accomplished our tasks faster and with full cooperation. If we could have talked to team

members through phone conversations, email, facebook, or texting, we would not have had to waste time waiting for responses. We also would have been able to find out that our one teammate could not get on scholar and could have found other ways for him to give his input.

When Levi discusses virtual teams, he talks about how virtuality is a matter of degree. Such teams do not have to be completely virtual. Looking forward, it is best to use virtual aids as a helpful tool rather than the only form of communication. Teams should not be limited to one form of communication. They must be able to work together the best way to accomplish tasks.

Issues Teams Face

What?

During the summer and on breaks from school I work at a gym, ACAC. Specifically, I work in the Kidz Zone, taking care of children while their parents workout. The Kidz Zone employees many people of different ages and backgrounds, so teamwork is a key factor in avoiding conflict. At work, I take care of many children, ages 0-12. There are two sections of the Kidz Zone, one for ages 5 and up and the other for ages 4 and younger. On the "little kid" side, there are play tubes, a kitchen, and many toys for the kids to play with. On the "big kid" side, there is a gym with basketball nets, a video game room, and a TV room with games and puzzles for the kids. On both sides I supervise, play with, and care for kids.

So What?

According to Levi, conflicts in teams can have either negative or positive effects depending on the task. Effects of conflicts about routine tasks tend to be negative, while non-routine tasks tend to be positive. At the Kidz Zone, one routine task is that we are supposed to keep the children on their respective side according to age. Conflicts arise when some employees don't enforce this rule. Some employees let certain children roam back and forth between the two sides. This doesn't become an issue until a particular employee disagrees with the breaking of the rule. When this happens, a conflict between the two employees must be resolved.
A non-routine task that occasionally occurs is when a child comes in with a disability. For example, there has been a child with Autism who has come in to the Kidz Zone. Not all of the employees know the best way to care for him while he is there, especially when he gets upset. The first time he came in crying it was hard to find a way to soothe him. One employee suggested blowing bubbles, another suggested giving him a snack, and another suggested giving him a toy. In the end, we found that giving him a red toy car would make him happy. Without our conflicting ideas, we might not have found a solution to the problem.

Now What?

For resolving the conflict over the routine task, we can use Dewey's Rational Problem-Solving Approach. First, we must recognize that the problem exists and define it properly. From there, we could generate solutions that we think would help and then select the best solution. If it works, the problem is solved. If not, we must try again until the problem is solved. For example, one solution could be letting a younger child who is upset go to the older side to see a sibling, in order to keep them from crying. The employee who wanted to stop the roaming will compromise because of the need of the child. The employee who allowed the roaming will compromise by only allowing the child to roam under certain circumstances.

With the non-routine conflict we followed Dewey's approach and found a solution quickly. In Levi's discussion of decision making, he concluded that it is important to have a variety of different resources when solving a problem. By coming up with different ideas for solutions, we were able to find one that worked.

Teamwork Processes

What?

Last year, I volunteered with my peers around campus in a program put on by the YMCA. In order to fully understand the program, I attended an orientation session in Squires. Tuckman would best describe this as the forming stage of group development. I began to meet some of the other students that would be participating in the same program. At first, we mostly kept to ourselves but we were all excited to go out and help through service in the community. With common interests, we eventually warmed up to each other and were ready to work as a team.

So What?

In order to help the community, we were broken up into small groups to coordinate with each other to perform different services. As with any group, the members each took on a different role. Benne's study on groups can be applied to my own experience. To organize everyone together, an initiator proposed new ideas for service projects in emails. For example, I worked with three other students to visit a local apartment complex to spend time with the children of the residents. We helped the children with their homework, played games with them, and had snack time. Having our team there helped keep everyone motivated. The kids really enjoyed us being there, and it is a good feeling to know that we helped.

Now What?

Service projects are a great way to help the community. And as an added bonus, it makes me feel good knowing that I can make a difference. Working in teams gives everyone a common goal and keeps the members of the team focused and motivated. Looking to the future, I can't wait to work on more projects with others to bring smiles to people's faces through service. As long as my teams can effectively avoid social loafing, the group will accomplish much more than I can alone.

Characteristics of Teams

What?

In the Spring of 2010 I joined the sorority Pi Beta Phi. After being a member for almost a year, I was starting to see better how the organization worked as a team. I watched my big sister Kelly run the social chairman position, and I saw how it impacted the rest of the sorority. I wanted to make a difference the first opportunity I could, so I ran for social chairman for 2011 to follow in Kelly's footsteps.

So What?

As social chairman, I plan events to interact with other organizations here at Virginia Tech. I can't do it alone, though. According to Levi, people that work interdependently to accomplish a goal make up a team. In my team, the goal of planning social events can only be accomplished together. My main job is to directly contact the important members of the other organizations to set the dates for the events. My co-chairman Sara helps me with this task because there are too many events for me to plan by myself. In order for us to contact these important members, we must use our other sisters who can provide contact information for people they know. With my contribution and the rest of the team's effort, we have a full schedule planned for this Spring semester.

In discussing teams, Martin goes deeper into the idea of the team leader. He talks about the skills necessary to be a successful team leader. After a qualitative coding and analysis process, Martin determined that management and interpersonal skills are the most important. I know that one of the reasons our team works so well is that I can organize the team to each perform certain tasks by effectively communicating how it will lead to our final goal.

Now What?

Even though I have not held my position for very long at this point, we have already accomplished so much in establishing positive relationships with other organizations in the community through social events. Looking ahead, however, there is still room for improvement. One of the biggest obstacles to planning lies with communication. If a team cannot relate their ideas to each other, the goal is rarely met. Although my team communicates well enough to get the job done, the majority of contact is made through e-mails and texts, which sometimes go unanswered for days. If we plan more meetings in person, we will be more efficient and productive because our ideas will have instant feedback.