Team Dynamics and the Effects in Team Communication

Team Dynamics and the Effects in Team Communication

Crystal Henry

University of Phoenix

Team Dynamics and the Effects in Team Communication

Team communication can be affected by many factors. Different personalities can affect a team because if one is on a team with many strong personalities it can cause conflicts among the team. Everyone would want to lead and not be lead. Other issues such as time and logistics can cause issues, especially in an online environment. Not everyone has the same schedule or responsibilities. There are many aspects of a team that can be both beneficial to communication and can also cause a break down in communication on a team.

In order for a team to work there are many factors to consider. First would be communication. One would have to be able to communicate with your team. Whether it is a positive or negative comment it is best that your team is not in the dark and knows what direction they need to go. Having different personalities on a team can cause communication to break down. If one person is very dominant and a "take charge" personality and another is more methodical and quiet the more dominant of the two may think the other is lazy or not trying as hard and the more quiet team mate may think the other is controlling and does not want to take orders from this person. The team may be successful if the two realize both their weak and strong points, such as, the dominate team member may be the one to direct the team and make sure everything gets done on time while the quiet team member would be able to assure all the information is collected and put together properly. There are other factors in teams that can cause conflicts in a team. According to Capozzoli (1999) there are other issues other than different personalities that can cause team conflict, such as; values, attitudes, needs, expectations, perception, and resources. Each issue can cause a problem on a team, but if the entire team decides to work out these differences a team can be successful. "Productive conflict resolution involves learning how to disagree over issues and situations and coming up with a solution that can benefit the entire team" (Capozzoli, 1999).

Working or going to school online can cause issues with communication on a team. When you are on west coast and everyone else is on the east coast, it may seem like your always behind or unable to participate along with everyone else. Team members have families they have to take care of and this can take their focus away from the task at hand. I believe if everyone understands the time and location constraints it is possible to come up with a desirable time when everyone can meet to get what needs to get done. "Online groups are indeed real; however, with traditional groups, active participation plays a key role in determining whether an individual will experience self and social benefits from group membership. To the extent that membership in the group matters to the individual, virtual groups can and do exert powerful social influence on the participants (Mckenna and Green, 2002, p.125, para.2)".

There are myths in team dynamics that I believe can contribute to the breakdown in communication on a team. For example the article, Some myths about team dynamics, the myth about men being better leaders