Abstract
Teams are organizational groups composed of members who are ‘interdependent, share common goals and who must coordinate their activities to accomplish these goals’ (Hill, 2007 ). In comparison to groups, team members typically rotate leadership roles, have minimal supervision, set their own goals and specify the team vision. Many organizations today are routinely using teams to carry out most of their operations (Griffin, 2005). Organizations create teams for a variety of reasons. They give more responsibility of task performance to the workers. They also empower the worker by giving them greater authority and decision-making freedom. There are several myths that have been established about teamwork. Within this paper, I will briefly discuss the six myths versus the realities and further elaborate on the myth that team conflict is unhealthy.
1. Myth- Teams are harmonious people who compromise of their needs for the sake of the team. The reality is that teams are comprised of diverse people with a common goal. Adapting a monolithic profile can lead to low team performance.
2. Myth- Team conflict is unhealthy. The reality is conflict is a tool that if harnessed correctly can spark motivation and innovation.
3. Myth- Most people like teamwork. People are complex and have varied preferences. There are people who like teams, neutral and those who dislike teamwork.
4. Myth- Teamwork is essential to business success. The reality is organizations are also complex systems and the need for teamwork depends on the organization’s goals. In some organizations, teams may not meet the needs of the organization.
5. Teams are easy to influence and manage. Team leaders require a different skill set compared to typical managers. They must constantly find the right medium to develop leadership and guide the team to goal achievement.
6. Senior Managers encourage teamwork. The reality is senior managers may struggle with sharing leadership and lack of control within a team environment. (Wright, 2013)
The teamwork myth I will explore further is team conflict is unhealthy. Conflict is defined as a disagreement among two or more individuals (Griffin, 2005). It is often assumed that conflict is something that should be avoided because it connotes antagonism, hostility and descent. Griffin (2005) notes that management theorist have traditionally viewed conflict as a problem that should be avoided. It is quite logical to see why this myth is often viewed as reality. Conflict has the real potential to disrupt the workplace and create hostility and tension that can cause serious harm to the organization. Most managers have a negative perception of conflict and feel that it should be quickly extinguished. Although, conflict can present as a potential problem to an organization, there are situations where conflict is both healthy and necessary. Within teams, conflict forces each member to thoroughly study and defend their position. As a result, the team may make a better decision and are better prepared to justify that opinion to others. Comparatively, if all team members agreed on one decision without the inclusion of alternate views, the decision is less likely to be analyzed. It is important that rules such as respect are established and discussed early in the group process to appropriately direct conflict. If conflict does become dysfunctional within a group, it is the job of the team leader to address the matter and redirect the team accordingly. Either too much or too little conflict can present dysfunction for an organization. In both cases performance would be low. Optimal levels of conflict spark motivation, creativity, innovation that result in higher overall performance.
Teams can bring many positive changes to some organizations. They allow organizations to capitalize on the knowledge and motivation of their workers and enable more organizations to shed bureaucracy and promote flexibility.
Bibliography
Griffin, R. (2005). Managign Work Groups and Teams . In Management (p. 621). New York : Houghton Mifflin Company .
Hill, S. (2007 ). Team Leadership . In P. Northhouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice (p. 217). Thousand Oaks , CA: Sage Publications .
Wright, D. (2013). The Myths and Realities of Teamwork. Retrieved from http://bookboon.com/en/the-myths-and-realities-of-teamwork-ebook