Team and Conflict Management

Teams and Conflict Management

A team is a group of individuals who interact dynamically, are mutually dependent on each other, and working toward the goal agreed upon. Everyone on the team has a specific role within the team to fulfill (Salas, Dickinson, Converse, & Tannenbaum, 1992). Organizations use teams because more can be accomplished by a team than an individual. Teams are used to maximize the human resource potential of an organization. A teams output is superior and also tends to be more creative than an individual.

Team Skills

A team will not normally form itself, it must have catalyst to pull the team together, and this catalyst is generally the team leader. The leader along with the team members must help create certain elements within the team. A team goal is selected, which all team members must know, agree to, and commit to accomplishing. The team may have more than one goal but one of them will stand out and become the primary team goal. All team members must provide productive participation by contributing ideas, share in the decision making process, and making sure that the decision decided upon works. There must be an open and honest exchange of information among the team. The team must be cohesive, each team member must have a sense that he or she belong to the team. Each team member must trust, respect, and support one another and be open in any critiquing that is done. A team is typically composed of diverse individuals this is an asset and provides different perspectives for ideas. Teams are flexible and can make changes when necessary (Clark, 2010).

Team Development

Thomas Quick labeled the developmental stages: Searching, Defining, Identifying, Processing, and Assimilating/Reforming. Bruce Tuckman named them Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. These stages have many name variations using different terms of the same concept. Whatever the name is, the team still has to go through the different stages in the formation (Lee, 2008).

The beginning stage happens at the formation of the team and members are being introduced. This is when the team learns what they are required to do. Team rules and guidelines are established, and the goals and expectations of each team member determined. A team leader is established to work with the team on defining the processes required and to help move through the remaining steps.

The second stage defines the roles of the team members. Conflict can occur during this stage. Team members are expressing their ideas and tend to look at the details rather than the problem or situation. Low trust is a factor that is evident during this stage. The team leader can help guide the team toward established goals, set roles, accepted behavior, and the necessary feedback for team communication.

With stage three everyone