Embrace Diversity to Build Effective Teams

        The article I chose was "Embrace Diversity to Build Effective Teams," by Dr. Marilyn Manning. Dr. Manning works with groups to turn them into effective teams. She holds problem-solving sessions for groups that do not have clear ground rules. Turning a group into a team is a challenge in the business world; since there are so many conflicting personalities at times. It is, however, an important and necessary factor in the business world to build team skills.

        Dr. Manning has worked with different teams to resolve and identify conflicts, within a group. Dr. Manning was the neutral party to help people, during the problem-solving sessions. Dr. Manning worked with a team of five high achievers, who each had their own individual goals. When the people in the team started talking, they realized there were some things they all had in common.  So, it turned out that their conflicts were due to isolation, and a lack of teamwork.  The group realized that they had the potential to work as an effective team.

        Dr. Manning also worked with two divisions of the same company, which was research and development versus sales and marketing. They had a lot of conflicts, feeling that one undermined and ignored the other division of the company.  After a discussion on expectations, the two divisions agreed that if deadlines were to be extended, all parties would be notified of the change at least twenty-four hours in advance. The two teams felt that when everyone followed this guideline, things ran smoothly. A new level of respect in the workplace, had developed between the teams.

        In conclusion, Dr. Manning feels that if a team is experiencing interpersonal conflict, it is primarily due to ineffective leadership. There is no reason to give up, however, since all the team needs is leadership and team coaching. The article did not deal with discrimination in the workplace. It dealt with how to deal with interpersonal conflict in teams. The strategy that Dr. Manning uses is effective, not only in the workplace, but in everyday situations in life.  

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