Team Dynamics

Webster New World Dictionary defines the word "dynamics" as the science dealing with motions produced by given forces or the forces operative in any field. It also defines "team" as a number of persons associated together in work or activity. Together these words demonstrate how a group of individuals with a common goal will work together to achieve that goal. When working in a team there is many forces, internal and external, that contributes to the success or failure of a team. Jim Temme and Jeanine Katzel in their article, Calling a team a team doesn't mean that it is: successful teamwork must be a way of life, list several characteristics of a successful team: goals and objectives, empowerment, trust, authentic participation and leadership (Temme & Katzel, 1995). A team that can implement these characteristics is sure to be a successful.

At the time the team is formed, each team member should be clear on the goals and objectives of the team. They should also be clear on what their role is a member of the team. At the formation of the team each member should be given a specific responsibility and should be held accountable for its completion. Goal specification is important at this point because it is very important for team members to have common goals for team achievement. Team members should be clear on their goal as a team and what it will take to accomplish the goal. They should express individual goals that help will contribute to the accomplishment of the overall goal (Mcneill, Bellamy & Burrows, 2000). Team members need to be clear on their goals; this will allow the team to work more effectively at accomplishing the goal without spending a lot of time on minuscule tasks. Spending too much time focusing on conversations or debate that is not directly related to the goal could cause the team to loose focus.

When a group of individuals decide to form a team to work on a specific project they should take into consideration things can contribute to their success or failure. Each person in the group must take into consideration that they are dealing with different people with different lives and schedules. Scheduling could be a major conflict when it comes to team dynamics because each person has to set their schedule so that it coincides with that of the team. Some in the team may not be able to agree with the specifics of scheduling due to certain already planned activities, but for the most part each team member should be willing to participate with the team at the designated times. If a member of the team is not available at the designated time they should notify their team members in advance so that they will know how to proceed. Someone within the team should always keep absent members abreast and if a team member cannot collaborate with the team at a given time, he/she should still work on their contribution to the goal or assignment. Communication amongst team members is very important; if the communication within the team breaks down then the team is destined to fail.

Accountability is also vital part of team dynamics. Each team member should be clear on his/her contributions to the project. Team members should remain mindful that their contribution to the project is important in the achievement of the goal. Each individual team member should feel a sense of personal responsibility for the team's work (Compton 2007). Having a sense of personal responsibility for the teams work allows each team to feel as though their contribution to the work is as important as the work as a whole. In order for a team to be successful each person should be held accountable for his or her contributions to the work and if a team member fails to make a contribution to the work they should be held accountable as well. In her article, Personal Accountability in a Team, Michele Compton states, "When one person contributes a great deal, he or she should be recognized, and when another fails to contribute, he or she should answer for that. If individual work is not identified within the team, then there is no mechanism for ensuring the full participation of all team members" (Compton, 2007).

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