Team_Dynamics_in_Project_Development

Team Dynamics in Project Development By Geffery Nelson To Dr. Jimmie Manning Strayer University 2010 Mid Term - Essay Introduction My paper is going to focus on some of the challenges that can occur with teams during the project development process. Team and group dynamics are influenced by many factors, such as the larger context in which the team operates, the organization, the team identity itself, and the mix of individuals within the team (Berens, 2004). (Ernst, 2004).( Smith, 2004). It will focus collaboration of a team of people from different backgrounds. Also, I will discuss how to increase the performance of teams. Finally, I will discuss the three versions of the personality test. In my experience there are few organizations in any field of work where the major decisions are made by one person. Rather the running of any successful operation necessitates the collaboration of a team of people from different backgrounds and with unique personality and thinking styles, who interact as peers, pooling their ideas, judgments and plans. The success of their endeavors hinges on the behavior, talents, balance and cohesion of this management team. Dr Meredith Belbin, and his team of psychologists, studied for seven year period. They assessed individual managers from all over the world. Their different personality traits, intellectual abilities and behavior during a variety of management assignments were carefully evaluated. Results of this research showed that there are a finite number of Management Styles or Team Roles, and that these Team Roles comprise certain patterns of related behavior which can be adopted naturally by the various personality types found in organizations. The accurate delineation of these Team Roles is critical to the study of management team effectiveness. (Marriott , n.d.). Katherine Klein, a professor of management at Wharton, and her colleagues examined what they call the shared mental models of work groups—how team members organize their tasks and determine their goals. Klein observed that when team members think alike about how to execute a project, they are able to anticipate one another’s actions and coordinate their behavior. Thus, they are likely to perform better than teams whose members have different ideas about how a project should proceed, says Klein. (Walsh, 2006). Team building skills are critical for your effectiveness as a manager or entrepreneur. And even if you are not in a management or leadership role yet, better understanding of team work can make you a more effective employee and give you an extra edge in your corporate office (n.a , 2005). There are three versions of the personality test to help us understand how you and your team members react to each other and how they might tackle project assignments. The first is the Myers-Briggs type Indicator (MBTI), invented by Isabell Briggs Meyers and Katherine C. Briggs. It requires a qualified administrator, called an MBTI Qualified Practitioner. Who’s almost always shrink of one shade or another. The MBTI, As it’s known, reports your personality using codes. The second test is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, which you can find in a small, but popular book named Understand Me.The third test is the Management Team Role-Indicator (MTR-i) questionnaire, which like MTBI, must be administer by a good psychologist ( Bradbary , 2005). (Garrett, 2005). In conclusion team dynamics can be very challenging. Primarily, because we come from different backgrounds. We also have different personalities’. If a team can come together as one, there is nothing that they want accomplish. REFERENCES . (Berens, L. V. & Ernst, L. K.. Smith, M.A ( 2004). Team Dynamics Defining the Team Essentials for Team Success http://www.bestfittype.com/teamessentials.html Bradbary, D. & Garrett, D. (2005 ). Herding Chicken Marriott , DTeam Building, Team Roles and Team Dynamics.( n.d.). Walsh, K., Deconstructing Team Dynamics: Making Teams Work Better/CIO (2006). http://www.cio.com/article/23926/Deconstructing_Team_Dynamics_Making_Teams_Work_Better N. A. Time-Management-Guide.com.( 2005) http://www.time-management-guide.com/team-building.html