Problems in team work

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

- Anonymous (1)

Throughout life one belongs to many groups or teams for example in school or work. Team is more than just bunch of people working together. Team consists of different people, all with different personalities. This often causes problems, which is what I'm writing in this entry (and not because I would feel that our group needs this :)).

Problems are often caused by only one person, as Bennett Gordon writes in his article: "Felps identified three personality types that can ruin a group: jerks, slackers, and depressive pessimists." (2) Gordon says that one person who fits any of those personality types can make a group perform 30-40% worse. Problem often spreads through the group. For example, in the study Gordon writes about, groups with jerks in them started being mean to each other and groups with depressive pessimists often acted more depressed (2).

Nate Desmond writes in his blog entry (1) about four big problems in team work and how to solve them. These are:

1. Self-centeredness
This means caring more for yourself than for others. This damages the interest of everyone in a team. Team should work towards a common interest, but selfishness causes that individual tries to accomplish what they think is best for themselves only. Solution to this is easier said than done: selflessness. Every member must put their own interests aside and work towards the goals of the team.

2. Half-heartedness
Person exhibiting this thinks that the group is not accomplishing anything and/or would rather be somewhere else. The lack of interests worsens the effectiveness of the team and spreads fast. Solution to this is dedication. Members should all be passionate about the goal and actually want to work towards it. Better motivation may be needed.

3. Uncooperative
Too much competition within a team will destroy its ability to work as an unit. Team members may be competing maybe for a promotion or grades and try to make themselves look better than their teammates. This spreads rapidly and the team will not accomplish nearly as much as it would in a trusting environment. Solution is collaboration. Team members should work together, not separately. This increases team's effectiveness and the team is prepared to compete with other teams as a whole.

4. Stubborness
Refusal to think of new ideas and methods is a huge problem. Team members who refuse to consider something new will destroy the cohesiveness of a team. Solution to this is flexibility. Everyone should give space for other ideas than their own. This does not mean that one should surrender long-held ideas and opinions. However good team players are willing to learn.

Group leaders and managers hold a big role in overcoming problems in a team. The best thing would be to prevent them happening in the first place. In order to accomplish this as much as possible, training is important (3). Understanding how teams evolve and work helps the team to succeed.

However, neither team managers or members can properly anticipate all problems that could occur. When problem comes up, team that faces it head-on, solve it and learn from it have the biggest chances to avoid the same in the future and succeed. Managers should make sure that no problem goes unnoticed. In Gordon's article he says: "There was just one guy who was a particularly good leader. And what he would do was he would ask questions and he would engage all the team members and diffuse conflicts." Recognizing the problem is the first step to the solution and when a good leader sees that the team is failing to cooperate, they call up a meeting and discuss the problem.

Being a team manager is hard and responsible work. I'm currently in software project management course and our team has already faced many problems. In my experience in student projects it's common that lack of motivation is a problem, as no one's actually getting paid for the work, other than ECTS ;). Often people just want to complete the course but don't really mind about the grade.

Let us all keep doing the good work in our team :)

References:

(1) http://www.practicalmanliness.com/5-problems-that-destroy-teamwork-and-how-to-solve-them/
(2) http://www.utne.com/Science-Technology/The-Problem-with-Teamwork-How-to-Lose-Friends-and-Negatively-Influence-People.aspx
(3) http://www.articlesbase.com/team-building-articles/the-keys-to-dealing-with-teamwork-problems-1739998.html