Essay: Learning Team Paper – team conflicts

In the scenario between Judy, Jeremy, Sheila, and Jennifer, the most evident conflict would be task conflict. The team is working with a deadline that neither one of them thought was reachable. As the deadline approaches emotions are high and the project could become a domino effect. The work that is required by the writers, Sheila and Jeremy, must be completed prior to Jennifer’s portion. Also, with Judy going behind the backs of Sheila and Jeremy and editing the work that has been submitted without discussing or offering other ideas, it has created a communication breakdown. Nonetheless, it has caused members of the team to become very unhappy and pointing fingers to why things haven’t been completed.
Relationship conflict is also evident here. “Relationship conflicts stems from interpersonal incompatibilities and triggers negative feelings among team members, such as animosity and hatred” (Huo, Zhang and Guo, 2016). Jeremy and Sheila are beginning to feel the pressure of the deadline approaching. When Jeremy unveils to Sheila that Judy is rewriting everything, Sheila retaliates with calling Judy a witch and they both feel underappreciated. Yet, Judy has openly stated that the writers are inexperienced and is slowing down the progress of the project.
Jennifer is also feeling the pressure of the deadline quickly approaching and it is evident she is starting to resent her other team members. She is unhappy because she knows she will have to work nights and weekends to complete her part of the new leadership training program. Huo (2016), states that a cross functional team is interdependent on team performance and that success of the team depends on a high degree of communication and the minimization of relationship conflict.  As a manager, with the deadline approaching the most effective way to address the conflict is task process coaching. This type of intervention will open a line of communication among the group while addressing the issues that has caused the wedge between the team. When addressing the team this process should help smooth the frustration and stress among the group.
Task process coaching will also help the team get motivated and provide different strategies to get the project completed before the deadline. The members of this team are lacking in motivation. All they can see is the deadline approaching and are quickly losing their inspiration for the project. Effective task process coaching will help get the team working together and get the project completed before the deadline.
Out of the five approaches the most suitable approach to minimize the conflict and to complete the task at hand on time is collaboration and compromise. As an organization trying to evolve in the training material development they must come together to win on every level. At the least, this task as a group can also be seen as a training on how to work together effectively to accomplish the task.
Bringing the team together and collaborating will help achieve the team goal of finishing the project on time. Each member needs to take a moment to self-reflect on what they want or need for them to get their portion of the project completed. The entire group, the manager, Judy, Jeremy, Sheila and Jennifer all need to collaborate and brainstorm ideas to ensure every member of the team has what they need to complete the project. They also will need to come back to the drawing board and start fresh.
Judy has already used the confrontation approach. She has openly stated that the writers are inexperienced, so the project is moving slowly. Judy needs to use a collaboration approach. She is not a writer but an industrial designer and she needs to learn how to work with the writers of the group in order to complete the project. Judy will also need to refrain from having disgruntled comments towards the teammates because this can and seemingly has caused a hostile work environment causing members not to perform at their best.
Jeremy has only been with the company a little over a year and is the most inexperienced person on the team. He has never conducted training and this is only his second project. Jeremy would best benefit from an accommodating approach and learn from Sheila. Jeremy could build up his “social credits” with this project if he works hard.
Sheila has a reputation for being highly efficient and an excellent writer for materials. At this point in the project, Sheila needs to confront Judy. The confrontation approach is used when time is vital and when achieving the goal is more important than the relationship with the other person. If it is true that Judy is re-writing all of Sheila’s and Jeremy’s work, this is hindering the team from completing the project and the issue needs to be addressed quickly to carry on.
Jennifer needs to compromise with her other team members. She needs to let them know that because their portions of the project are taking so long she is now going to have to work nights and weekends to get her portion of the project done. If Jennifer and other team member’s compromise then everyone may not have to work a weekend or night, which is not what everyone wants but it will help get the project completed. The purpose of compromising is to resolve the conflict by negotiating and mediation. The team must communicate in order for compromising to be effective and to determine as a whole on which options would be best. Although compromising does not guarantee to eliminate interpersonal conflict, it does force the team to become balanced with disagreements.
If this team is left alone to work things out there is there possibility of the team experiencing other levels of conflict without outside intervention. One conflict might be work-family conflict. If Jennifer is forced to work late nights to get her portion completed then it takes away from her home life, not allowing a work life balance. The conflict of cross functional teams could arise if the deadline is not met. This could lead to division on the sales team and the training development department. Allowing the team to resolve the conflict could also result in a necessary open dialogue between team members. Team members could respectfully address scheduling issues and disagreements to clear any confusion instead of placing blame. “If conflict is handled correctly, it can unleash communication, lead to a renewed sense of teamwork and can help your company achieve better outcomes.” (Wroblewski, 2018). Open communication helps the team see they share a common goal despite their differences, take ownership and agree on a schedule to do what is best for the company.​ In addition, all team members must be willing to openly listen to one another and accept criticism. Communication, collaboration, and compromising will be the fundamental foundation of success with the team.
References
Huo, X., Zhang, L., & Guo, H. (2016). Antecedents of Relationship Conflict in Cross-Functional Project Teams. Project Management Journal, 47(5), 52–69.
Thompson, L. (2014). Making the Team: A Guide for Managers (5th Edition).
Wroblewski, M.T. (2018). Difference Between Inter- & Intra-Group Conflict. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-inter–intra-conflict-2658.html.