Seven Members On My Management Team example essay topic

When you hear the word "team", what does it mean to you? Think of the common factor between a baseball team, a military fire team, and a learning team. They all share many aspects. Each one is a group of people that have to work together to accomplish a task or job.

Each person on those teams has their own individual assignment to carry out, and every assignment is just as important as the next. If one member fails to fulfill their duty the entire team will not function correctly. But how do we know who will have what task? How do we know who will even be a part of that team?

Let's dive a little deeper into the ingredients that make up team dynamics. Research on team effectiveness concludes that the most important contributing factor is a clear and elevating goal. Further, the relationship between goal setting and task performance is probably the most robust finding in the research literature of the behavioral sciences. The more completely the purpose of the team can be identified, the more likely management, team members, and the rest of the organization will support it in accomplishing its objectives. Once the team has been formed and the members selected, management-and especially the team itself-must determine how it will go about getting the job done. This is the ground rule phase and involves deliberately taking charge of the "nor ming" process.

When and where will the team meet? How will it meet (face- to- face or some kind of virtual arrangement)? What maintenance roles will the members agree are important and how will they assign those? How will the members communicate with one another?

What happens if a member can't be at a meeting but has an assignment due? What are the expectations regarding participation in the meetings? How will we know what mid course corrections need to be made to the process or plan? How will we measure our progress?

What can we do to learn from this experience about how not only to make this team better, but future teams: both those we serve on individually and teams the company forms? By planning how and when the team will reflect on the process they are going or have gone through the, individuals, team, and larger organization benefit. Let us contemplate a few questions and get a better look at what Team Dynamics are all about: What is a team? A team is a group of individuals brought together in order to accomplish a task that cannot be effectively or efficiently completed by an individual.

This group may be temporary or long term in nature. The length of time that the team will be together has a great effect on the ability of the individuals to work together. It may contain individuals of varying expertise in order to create cross-functionality in order to accomplish the assigned task /'s in the most efficient and correct manner. Why are teams Important? When trying to complete some tasks, teams may be more effective than an individual. They offer the ability for individuals to get to know their team members and develop working relationships.

Teams allow organizations to develop a strong culture that incorporates the needs and expectations of all of its members. Teams cut much of the bureaucratic structure that accompanies traditional organizations and offer greater flexibility and speed in the decision-making processes, when they are empowered to make decisions. Team Dynamics and Characteristics Roles that Group Members may play: Initiator Information seeker / giver Elaborator Opinion seeker / giver Coordinator Harmonizer Compromiser Gatekeeper Standard Setter Commenter Follower Orienteer Collaborator Evaluator Energizer Procedural Technician Recorder Encourager Ghost Group members may exhibit verbal and non-verbal behaviors that you should be aware of while working with them. Observing these behaviors can help you to understand their points of view, their desires, and their abilities.

Many groups have established roles and norms for the members of their groups (role conflict, overload, ambiguity). Groups may establish or need to establish decision-making procedures (Debate / Discussion/Finalization) to facilitate their group working environment. To work in a team effectively, it may be necessary to take into account how each individual member works best. Some work best in singular tasks alone, while others work best in groups. How the tasks of the group are delegated may depend on the orientations of the individuals in the group. Group Development Process (Bruce Tuck man): o Forming o Storming oNorming o Performing o Adjourning Potential Areas of Conflict within Groups: o Asch effect - 80% of group members will yield to incorrect group opinion o Groupthink - cohesive team failing to realistically view alternatives o Social loafing - decrease in individual effort as the group size increases four Ways Not to Listen (Non-listening, Listening to Ignore, Listening Selectively, Listening for the Ego) trust and Criticism Styles of the Group o Formal or Informal Team task and Goal Orientation of the Team A strong working relationship between members of a team allows for the ability to efficiently provide a service that is effective and of a high quality.

This results in the best possible completion of tasks through proper team collaboration. Sometimes, the job is entirely too large for any individual to complete alone. In relating team dynamics to personal and professional life, one of our team members had this to say: When I look in my book reference, Tools for Teams, I get many exclamations. When I think of team, I think of people working together to get a job done. A team should be built with trust. When you have trust among team members there is no limit to what they can do.

When I look in my Dictionary for the word Dynamics, I see relating to physical force producing motion and I think what? But then it hits me Dynamics is being Energetic and Forceful. When you think about it, that is what you need in a team. When you have a team, you would want people that have a lot of energy and force to get the job done. Let me give some examples; take my kids, each of them have a different Dynamic that makes up our team. One is full of energy, asks a lot of questions, and is very detailed oriented.

The other is more laid back and results oriented. So when taking on a task such as assembling a project, the child that asks a lot of questions will do all the reading, and the other child, Mr. Results, will put everything together. Together they make a Dynamic Team because they have the energy and the trust and they both are fully committed on working on one common goal and they are both accountable to one another to get the job done. Team members all share in leadership. When you have Team Dynamics you have energy, kinematics, momentum, and leadership. Team Dynamics are like my kids.

They are both made up of many different parts. They both bring different views to the table but put them together. They are a powerful team and will get the job done. When I look in my book, Tools for Teams, I am told that a team should always know how to display information for decision making and how to preserve information.

This is important for the simple fact that if a team cannot make a decision, then they never know what the team is doing. In my office I have seven members on my management team, and between us we have anywhere from twenty-two to twenty-four people on our team. Our biggest problem in our office is people that are not moving as a team. When we had a project to complete they would work without a purpose but to get the job done. We were an okay management team but we were not working on one accord. We have four of our managers who were full of energy and the other three were strong leaders.

After I read Tools for Teams I learned how to turn our team around to make a stronger management team. We had to change our rolls and think as one, trust each other and learn how to work as a team. We now have team dynamics. As long as the team is focused on a common goal they are more likely to succeed. By being focused on that goal each member has a clear understanding and motivation to reach it. By setting a time to meet and a place, it gives the team a sense of routine and makes everyone feel sure about what, when and where.

Communication on this fact is equally important. What is the point of being in a team or part of a project if you don't grow and expand? It is always important to use the lessons we learn in everything that we do. If we don't, what is the point of learning? Buffington, K.W., Jablokow, K.W., & Martin, K.A. (2002). Project team dynamics and cognitive style.

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