Issues Important To The Other Team Members example essay topic

Andrew Carnegie, one of the world's most successful businessmen, once stated, "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results". While Mr. Carnegie lived in a totally different era, the basic foundation and necessities of a team have remained the same. When working individually, common people can easily reach common results. If these same individuals are grouped into a team with proper dynamics they are able to achieve extraordinary results.

This team will undoubtedly experience success but is also likely to experience conflict. This is why it is important for a team to have effective dynamics and apply conflict resolution strategies. Team Dynamics Team dynamics are the various roles that each member may assume in a team setting. Each role has specific characteristics that dictate the level at which a team performs. When applying team dynamics it is critical that each role performs a specific job function. There are many different roles that are blended together to contribute to the overall success of the team.

Key roles vital to team success include: coach, innovator, explorer, sculptor, crusader, conductor, curator, and scientist Coach The role of a coach in team dynamics is a critical component for a team's success. The coach is a person who is in charge of creating team motivation, looking out for the general comfort of team members, and contributing significantly to the team's satisfaction. Not only does the coach develop positive working relationships amongst the team, they often act as mediators as problems arise. Along with the numerous successes of a coach come their downfalls.

Coaches often fail to identify their team member's differences of opinion. The coach is usually so determined on getting a job done that he or she may not consider other valuable opinions of the group. Coaches also fail due to the fact that they do not respect the demands of the group. When the coaches are absent, teams often fail to reach their goals.

Coaches provide critical guidance that team members depend on for their success. The absence of the coach also has a devastating effect on morale, confidence, and teamwork. People often become so dependent on the coach that when he or she is not around, members often cannot keep focus and therefore lose their guidance. Innovator An equally important role in a team is that of an innovator. Innovators can best be described as people who like to use their world around them to achieve maximum results. These team members often produce essential solutions to problems, develop long-term goals with their use of ideas, and often demonstrate an understanding of what cannot clearly be seen.

In a nutshell, these are the problem solvers of the group. Someone in the team will often come up with a problem that they find difficult to resolve and the team innovators are the people who turn nothing into something. These people have visions that are beyond the norm and are very significant members of the team. Without innovators in a team, teams will often come across an obstacle in which they cannot clearly see a reasonable solution. In rare cases, innovators can do more harm then good. Some setbacks that innovators pose are that they will often invent unforeseeable solutions to problems.

They use their imagination a little too aggressively and will compose a solution that is impossible to clearly conclude. For the most part, innovators serve as vital assets to a team and without their presence; the majority of teams will sink. Explorer One role that is a necessary piece of the puzzle that makes up a team is that of an explorer. Explorers attempt to find new and better ways to accomplish a goal.

They are considered to be ground breakers and are expected to look over the boundaries of the situation to find un pursued ideas until every possible idea has been considered and discussed. Explorers usually dispute the normal way of conducting business and experiment with change to see if the situation can be upgraded in any way. If an explorer does not perform well in his or her team then the team could lose focus, start too many new ideas, or try to fix portions of the projects that are already acceptable. Explorers must have the ability to promote their ideas to others, both inside and outside their team. (Myers-Briggs 2004) They generally use other members of their team in order to bring out their best work. Explorers do not usually work best by themselves, but would rather relate with other team members to be at their top level of production (2004 Team Management Starter).

If no explorer is present in a team then the team could bypass good opportunities, lack improvement, or even get stuck in a creative jam (Myers-Briggs 2004). Sculptor Another important role in the dynamics of a solid working team is a sculptor. Sculptors believe that things need to be completed right away. They tend to take action immediately and encourage others to become involved in the same fashion.

Sculptors use the knowledge and experience that they have gained over the years to assist them with their problems. They almost always react to situations with a sense of urgency and usually have a clear outline of what goals need to be accomplished and when they need to be done by. If a sculptor does not perform his or her duties to the best of their abilities then the team might suffer. The team would most likely react too fast and not think problems through completely. The team could also show trends of giving up end results just to get the job done quickly. Without a sculptor a team would have serious problems such as difficulties in taking action.

When action is taken, it might take a considerable amount of time to complete tasks. (Myers-Briggs 2004) Crusaders Another important role in the dynamics of a team is a crusader. A crusader gives priority to certain thoughts, ideals or beliefs. They focus on subjects that are the most vital. Crusaders are very object oriented at the time of completing tasks.

Principles and values greatly influence decision making in a crusader's life. Crusaders care about others and will support anyone with their same values. This person is able to provide help on issues that require deep thought and those which involve values. They bring the most important topics to the attention of their teammates for discussion. If a crusader is unable to excel at his or her duties, than the team might be unsuccessful in expressing their disagreements. The team might also take views on certain problems that really are not a reflection of the team's true beliefs.

Without a crusader a team might lack important priorities and tend to try to accomplish unnecessary goals. Conductor The conductor is another important role in a team. People who assume this role generally make things happen. They try to have an influence on people, things and situations by designing a plan and putting together the work of many different people. Conductors tend to work in a very structured fashion so that goals are clearly defined and all members of team know what needs to be done.

A conductor is good at meeting deadlines. A good conductor can balance the necessity for completion of goals with the feelings of others. If a team has a ineffective conductor, it might not allow for the flexibility of other team members. The team might succeed but the members' welfare might not. Without a conductor a team would most likely be highly unstructured. The team would probably be very unorganized and complete its work in a random fashion.

This lack of coordination might send the team into complete turmoil. Based on this information, it is vital for a team to have a top-level conductor. Curator role sometimes displayed within a team is that of curator. The curator helps to bring understanding to the group. They establish a clear image or comprehension of the material insulin an accurate interpretation of the idea obtained by the group.

The curator seeks additional information and examples that may aid in the group's understanding. Curators tend to envision the end result of a project and the steps necessary for completion. Curators tend to be very detailed oriented. Such detail can be helpful to a groups understanding but may also prove to be a hindrance.

As a result of a curators thirst for more knowledge on a subject, the group may tend to have more information than necessary, out of desire for total understanding. Another downfall is if a curator should leave the group without the other members filling in the gap; a team can begin to fall apart. Since the curator has taken on the role of deciphering all the information, without that person the group may suffer from miscommunication, disagreements, and the inability to collect important data. A curator plays a valuable role, but if a group relies on the curator as their only source of understanding, the group will inevitably fail. Scientists The last role sometimes represented when discussing team dynamics is that of a scientist.

A scientist's role is very similar to that of a curator. Just as a curator, a scientist assumes the role of providing clarity to information obtained by the group. The player of this role tends to be very analytical and fills the need to dissect the information in order to have a complete understanding of its contents. A scientist's need to over analyze can sometimes leave the group unable to solve problems; therefore failing to meet goals and objectives. All of the above roles are important for a team to achieve success. No matter how well a team performs it will inevitably experience conflict.

This fact makes conflict resolution strategies equally as important as team dynamics. CONFLICT RESOLUTION STRATEGIES The above roles are designed to make a team work in harmony. In reality this never happens. Conflicts often occur between team members with opposing options.

In order to resolve these conflicts a team can use several conflict resolution strategies. These strategies include compromise, avoidance, collaboration, competition, and accommodation. Avoidance One possible conflict resolution strategy is avoidance. According to Richard Gemm e, "Avoidance is the ignoring of a conflict, anticipating it will go away".

To totally employ the strategy of avoidance can result in a group meltdown. By simply ignoring conflicts instead of confronting them, even the smallest disagreement, can escalade into a major disaster. Such avoidance can result in the group being unable to perform the most minor of tasks. Avoidance can lead to distrust within the group, high anxiety within the group, and a decline in the groups' performance. Although this is not the correct strategy for all conflicts, it can be useful in certain situations.

Avoidance should be used if the problem can be solved better between the parties involved. It can also be used if the individuals need a period of "cool down" time before addressing the conflict. Obviously, avoidance is the simplest of all the strategies because it mainly means doing nothing. Typically, an issue that would warrant the use of this strategy resolves itself in a short matter of time and without wasting valuable team time.

Compromise Compromise is one of the most important conflict resolution strategies that is necessary for any team. When people compromise, emotions are often involved, making the professional conflict almost a personal conflict. The word compromise is often used in a way it was never intended to, for example, when we are not feeling well, we often say that our health has been compromised. This is just one example why we think of the word as negative. After teams have been working with each other repeatedly, they often learn the hard way that compromise is indeed a good word. Compromise is a perfect way for two people with difference of opinion to meet in the middle with a little "give and take".

This forms a resolution where all parties are mutually happy, even though the results of the conflict didn't go exactly how they wanted it to go. Without compromise, teams would be sure to fall victim of devastation. The way compromise has proven valuable in teams is that it is not about proving anyone right or wrong. Rather, compromise is about satisfying everyone's needs and desires, and these are often non-rational. Compromise allows us to work as a team in harmony, so we can avoid disastrous setbacks initiated by difference of opinion.

Collaboration Widely considered the best conflict resolution strategy, collaboration is used when other's ideas and opinions are a concern of the team. Collaboration is a very useful tool in resolving conflict but requires a great deal of time and energy. This avenue of approach to resolving the conflict involves an effort to work with both sides of the disagreement in order to find a solution that resolves the issues of each individually. (Thompson, Aranda, and Robbins 2004) It promotes teamwork and cooperation between the personnel of the team. In order for collaboration to succeed at resolving conflicts several events must occur. One event that is vital for success is that team members must trust and respect each other (Lesmeister 1992).

If members of the team cannot rely on each other to get work done then they will be less likely to want to accommodate that person's needs. There must also be time for all sides to express their thoughts and feelings on the conflict (Lesmeister 1992). It would be unfair if only one side of the conflict was able to present their ideas to the team and the other side was left out. Finally, members of the team must be willing to admit that there could be other ways to accomplish the goals of the team then just their own ideas. Collaboration usually does not succeed when time is limited or there is no trust between teammates (Lesmeister 1992). Competition Another conflict resolution strategy that can be used by a team is competition.

Competition is not a preferred means of resolving conflict, however it can be used in certain scenarios. One case is when a team member is certain he or she is right. Another time that competition may be used is when a hasty decision needs has to be made, for example, in the case of an emergency. Competition can also be employed when one person is trying to overrun the whole team and a team member must stand up for their own beliefs or ideas. (Thompson, Aranda, and Robbins 2004) There are two styles of competition, forcing and contending.

Forcing is when one person will try and force their ideas on team members without regard for the feelings of the other people on the team. Contending is a more accepted means of competition. By contending, one still actively works to achieve their position but tries not to hinder the relationship between teammates. (O'Keefe 2003) The reason that competition is rarely used as a conflict resolution strategy is that there is a definite winner and loser in the conflict. This can cause conflicts to escalate and losers may try to retaliate (Hoban 1995).

Accommodation Accommodation is another conflict resolution strategy. Accommodation emphasizes issues important to the other team members. A person who uses this strategy will sacrifice his or her ideas to satisfy crucial needs for the group. It does not emphasize much on the mission, but has strong concentration on the feelings of others. It focuses on coinciding issues between the two parties in conflict and takes focus away from differences. Even though there might not be agreement on a specific issue, both agree on a common purpose.

This strategy should not be used if there is a valuable issue that should be discussed right away. Members with this approach will give up their own point of view in order to keep group functioning with out any conflicts. Some one with this type of strategy will go along with their group in order to avoid disagreements on controversial issues..