Introduction
A team is two or more people who work together to achieve a common objective. Moreover, a team might be formed for long-term cooperation or only meet for a few hours and complete a small task. From this perspective, group dynamics refer to how individual team members’ duties and behaviors affect other members and the group as a whole. As a result, team dynamics are the unconscious, psychological elements that impact the direction of a team’s behavior and performance. This paper will explore the different stages of team development, team dysfunctions, and how a Christian worldview can help a leader address issues within teams.
Team Development
Every team follows a set of rules rooted in human nature and the psychology of behavior. According to Tuckman’s theory, developed in 1965, there are four stages of team development: “forming, storming, norming, and performing” (Lazar et al., 2019). By understanding the process of team formation and the typical team dysfunctions, a leader can successfully address conflicts and ensure that all members work effectively for the benefit of the organization.
Team dysfunctions can affect a project’s implementation because they impact the ability of the team members to communicate and collaborate. Leadership and management skill has the potential to address team dysfunctions and help the members transition to a smooth workflow (Held et al., 2018). To achieve this, the leader has to possess good communication skills and be certain to understand the needs of the team members, as well as the common dysfunctions that affect the teamwork, and arbitrate the conflict.
The term dysfunction can also imply abnormality, but most company and project executives have sometimes dealt with team dysfunction in their careers. For example, teams may have an absence of trust, lack of commitment, fear of conflict, no accountability of the team members, or no focus on the results (Held et al., 2018). Preventing dysfunction begins with selecting the proper team members from the start and providing them with the tools they require to accomplish their tasks successfully (Clough et al., 2018; Lazar et al., 2019; Gambardella et al., 2018). However, even the finest hiring efforts can sometimes result in dysfunctional teams, but preventing problems is much easier than mending them.
A Christian worldview can be helpful when dealing with team dynamics and conflict in particular. The Bible has many stories and lines explaining how team dynamics work and how people communicate with one another. As such, this scripture is a useful source of information for those who work in such environments. Moreover, Christian leaders are prepared to face team dysfunctions and conflict resulting from it as they understand the human nature and sinfulness of some acts. According to Mingee (2021), “the sinfulness of the human heart causes havoc in both our relationship with God and our relationship with others” (para. 1). Hence, as a leader, I would benefit from a Christian worldview when working with teams because this approach allows me to understand human nature better.
Conclusion
In summary, this paper explores the issues of team dynamics and team dysfunctions. A team can be viewed as two or more people who collaborate to achieve a shared goal. Tuckman’s thesis states that there are four stages of team formation and typical team dysfunctions. A leader may successfully resolve problems and guarantee that all members work efficiently for the organization’s benefit. Preventing dysfunction begins with selecting the right team members and equipping them with the resources they need to do their duties successfully. Since they acknowledge the human nature and sinfulness of some behaviors, Christian leaders are prepared to face team dysfunctions and conflict as a result.
References
Clough, D. R., Fang, T. P., Vissa, B., & Wu, A. (2018). Turning lead into gold: How do entrepreneurs mobilize resources to exploit opportunities? Academy of Management Annals 13(1), 240-271.
Gambardella, A., Camuffo, A., Cordova, A., & Spina, C. (2018). A scientific approach to entrepreneurial decision making: Evidence form a randomized control trial. Management Science,15-20.
Held, L., Herrmann, A. M., & van Mossel, A. (2018). Team formation processes in new ventures. Small Business Economics, 51, 441–464.
Lazar, M., Miron-Spektor, E., Agarwal, R., Erez, M., Goldfarb, B., & Chen, G. (2019). Entrepreneurial team formation. Academy of Management Annals, 2, 10-20. Web.
Mingee, J. (2021). Confronting 5 traits of dysfunctional teams.