Team dynamics

Question 1

List 6 advantages of teams

Answer 1

1. Share development of ideas
2. Discovering and compensating individual errors
3. Mutual Support
4. Learning and Teaching
5. Reducing individual work load
6. Social interactions and belonging

Question 2

List 7 disadvantages of teams

Answer 2

1. Interpersonal conflict
2. Conformity
3. Groupthink
4. Levelling of individual performance
5. Diffusion of responsibility (“1/N”)
6. Social loafing
7. Devaluation of other groups

Question 3

Name 7 key aspects that define a team

Answer 3

1) Two or more people
2) Socially interact
3) common goals
4) organizationally relevant tasks
5) have interdependencies
6) different roles and responsibilities
7) embedded in organizational system

Question 4

What is the difference between task work and team work?

Answer 4

Taskwork is what a team is doing.
Teamwork is how they are doing the task

Question 5

Give examples of what defines team work

Answer 5

1) alignment of goals and actions
2) Coordination
3) Communication

Question 6

Briefly describe the Input-Output Model of team effectiveness

Answer 6

1) Input
Task characteristics / Context, Cooperation, Team composition, Team member skills, Capability
2) Process
Communication, Coordination,Decision making, Leadership
2A) Emergent states
Cohesion, Team Mental Models, Psychological Safety, Trust
3) Output variables:
Productivity, Member satisfaction, Innovation

May include feedback loop

Question 7

What determines (ideal) types and processes of teams according to Matthieu (2013) ?

Answer 7

Degree of interdependence.

Question 8

Name 7 types of teams

Answer 8

• Stable, organizational teams
• Project teams
• Self-regulating teams
• Virtual teams
• Ad hoc action teams
• Extreme teams
• Teaming
• Multiteam Systems
• Human-AI Teams

Question 9

What is the bystander effect?
What are the underlying processes?

Answer 9

The more people are present the less
likely individuals are to take initiatives
(e.g. helping someone who very
obviously needs help).

Underlying processes:
* Diffusion of responsibility
* Reinterpretation of the situation
(necessity for action is negated)
* Evaluation anxiety

Question 10

Describe the psychological phenomen of Conformity

Answer 10

As soon as there is 3 or more people in a group there is a tendency of members to adapt their opinion.
-> usually only publicly shared opinion, not personal opinion.

Question 11

What is Group think?

Answer 11

People take group opinion, even though they are not even fully convinced by it:
Insufficient search for information
Insufficient search for alternatives
Selective assessment of alternatives
Missing planning for consequences

Question 12

What are some factors for group think?

Answer 12

High cohesion
Isolation
Directive leadership
High time pressure

Question 13

What are some symptoms of group think?

Answer 13

Illusion of unanimity
Feeling infallible
Censoring people with different opinions
Stereotypes about people outside the group
Collective rationalization

Question 14

Name 4 measures to avoid group think.

Answer 14

1) Open development and assessment of
alternatives
2) Encouraging criticism and divergent opinions
3) Involving experts
4) Institutionalizing an Advocatus diaboli (spicy Avocado)

Question 15

How can I foster psychological safety?

Answer 15

• Acknowledge own fallibility
• Invite input and feeback from others
• Ask questions and explore mental models
• Replace blame with curiosity
• Inclusive Leadership

Question 16

What is team debriefing?

Answer 16

Can be used at the end or anytime within a process:
* What did we do?
* What went well? / Where can we improve?
* What will we keep doing/change?