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Team Dynamics and Group Development

Key Concepts Related to Team Dynamics and Conflict

Accommodation

  • An attempt to adjust views to minimize differences between parties.

Adjourning

  • Final stage when individuals leave the team or cease further contact with teammates.

Affiliation

  • Perceived connection to a group based on purpose, demographics, function, and other intangible dimensions.

Avoidance

  • Attempt to suppress a conflict and act as if it doesn't exist.

Cohesiveness

  • Degree of loyalty and consistency in norms within a working group.

Collaboration

  • Joint effort by multiple parties to find solutions that benefit everyone involved.

Competition

  • Attempt to achieve victory through force, skill, or dominance; one side wins and the other loses.

Compromise

  • Each party concedes something of value to reach a resolution.

Conflict

  • A clash between individuals or groups due to differing opinions, thoughts, and perceptions.

Cross-functional Team

  • A group made up of workers from different units with various areas of expertise working on specific projects.

Dysfunctional Conflict

  • Disputes that negatively impact individuals and/or teams.

Formal Group

  • A work group created by management to achieve specific strategies, plans, and outcomes.

Forming

  • The initial stage of group development where members meet and understand the type of team they have joined.

Functional Conflict

  • Productive disputes that can foster healthy discussion within teams.

Group

  • Consists of three or more people who work independently towards organizational goals.

Informal Group

  • A group that forms naturally among individuals for social purposes.

Norming

  • A stage where team members become comfortable in their roles.

Norms

  • Expectations (implicit or explicit) defined by a group leading to consistent behaviors or beliefs.

Performing

  • Stage at which the team operates at its optimal level, effectively working towards goals.

Problem-Solving Team

  • A small group formed temporarily to address specific issues.

Process Conflict

  • Disagreement regarding how to carry out work, often related to methods and processes.

Project Team

  • Group assembled to address problems and accomplish specific tasks.

Psychological Safety

  • Shared belief among team members that it is safe to trust one another and take risks.

Punctuated Equilibrium

  • Concept illustrating stable periods of organizational change punctuated by periods of volatility.

Relationship Conflict

  • Personality clashes between individuals in the workplace.

Role

  • Behavioral and performance expectations defined by a group, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Role Ambiguity

  • Confusion stemming from unclear expectations, intentions, or purposes of a position.

Role Structure

  • Prescribed set of performance expectations for a given position or job.

Self-Managing Team

  • A group of workers that independently manages its daily functions with minimal supervision.

Socialization

  • The process through which individuals learn the norms, skills, and values necessary to adapt to a group's expectations.

Socioemotional Roles

  • Behaviors that help build and maintain interpersonal relationships among team members.

Storming

  • Stage where members test the boundaries established during the forming phase leading to conflicts.

Task Conflict

  • Disagreement regarding the direction, content, or goals of a work assignment.

Task Roles

  • Behaviors necessary for completing work assignments effectively.

Team

  • A collection of individuals brought together to apply their skills to a joint project or goal.

Value Conflict

  • Clashes arising from differences in personal identities and values (e.g., political, religious, ethical).

Virtual Team

  • A group working together from different locations, leveraging communication technology (e.g., emails, video calls).

Working Team

  • A formal, ongoing group organized around specific tasks, processes, or roles.