Teams in the 21st Century Reflection Paper

Working in small groups is either welcomed with excitement by individuals or dreaded with apprehension. However, group work is a fact of life. Whether in a classroom setting or workforce collaborating within small groups are experiences many will interact at some point or regularly participate in. According to the 2010 third edition of the book A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking by Dan O’Hair, Hannah Rubenstein, and Rob Stewart, small groups can be defined as “a collection of between three and twenty people” (321). Small groups, though, are interesting in that while a small collection of people communication role is imperative to the success of the group, but also demonstrates individual’s behaviors when interacting. During small groups, they way in which the member communicates with each other illustrates how individuals perform by taking on specific roles as well as exposing their leadership style. During participation in group work, there is a set of expectations individuals hold for themselves as well as members of the group. Individuals will subconsciously take on a specific role as to how they will help the group achieve their goal, whether that be cohesively or disconnected. Subsequently, the recognition of these acquired roles provides an insight into the individual’s corresponding leadership style. Depending on roles and leaderships style group work can be a consistency of either individual challenging or complimenting one another.

Communicating in Teams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Teams consist of personnel with varied backgrounds, experience, education, and intellectual ability. These differences will, by nature lend themselves to varying perceptions in business, its problems and solutions, which result in

It is essential to have teamwork within a company. Companies who have embraced the concept of teamwork have reported increased performance in work production, problem solving and it has stimulated new growth. This group project approach has improved employee morale and increased input when managed correctly. The benefits of teamwork can make a positive effect in the company that incorporates this type of teamwork approach.

Teams have become very common and effective since they have proven to be effective in areas as cost reduction, developing new and innovative products, and improving quality (Effective Human relation, 2008). Team development is supported, in fact, required by almost all managements today, but still it may take quite a long time for the members to learn the task and activities and to fit themselves in the particular environment. Team work may vary as the organization or company varies. Team work involves a lot of important aspects such as relationships, cooperation, learning, leadership etc. since a team works together in

There are many factors altering group behavior and effectiveness, such as decision- making, cohesion and communication (Crocker, 2016). The later has also shown a positive relationship with group task cohesion (Smith et al., 2013), and methods of enhancing intrateam

Group communication follows slightly different ‘rules’ to communication in one-to-one situations. There is often more going on in a group, with a number of different people trying to speak, get their point across and their voice heard. Turn-taking can be more complicated; relationships and power issues between group members can also be more complex than in one-to-one contexts. As a communication context, groups can have a number of benefits for participants: • a group can be an effective way of sharing responsibilities • groups can improve decision-making and problem-solving because they draw on the knowledge and skills of a number of

Teamwork is important to complete any task and without it you have chaos. Everyone knows the saying “a team is only as strong as the weakest player,” this saying can be put to use for sports but it doesn't come into play for other industries. If doctors, pilots, food industries, and construction workers used this for everyday work they would be more efficient. Furthermore, every industry that has ever existed knows that there is always going to be something unexpected. Gawande recommends that when a team is working together and they can't seem to figure out what the problem is they should, “stop and talk through the case together”(101). When a group of workers uses this democratic way of thinking they critique each other and end up improving one another by showing them a different way of thinking. For example, many think surgeons rule the operation room and what they say goes, but in actuality they make mistakes like everyone else so this rule will actually save lives.

Reid Hastie, in his book “Wiser,” discusses many of the common points of how groups succeed and fail mainly due to group think. Throughout his years of research, he found a number of attributes that effective teams have in common. From his book, we have extracted ten important lessons that we believe are the most important for teams to learn and implement to be high performing. These findings also relate to the “5 Dysfunctions of a Team” that are outlined by Patrick Lencioni. Teachings taken from “Wiser” are symptoms, or indicators, of dysfunctions within a team, and many of his solutions help teams to overcome certain dysfunctions.

After reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Pat Lencioni, discussing the function of effective teams in class, and completing various team building exercises, I have developed a much better understanding of the importance of a proper team in a business setting and how good team work can produce more efficient and productive results.

Teamwork is the backbone of effective communication and the crucial cog that keeps the wheel of successful project management turning. The role of teamwork in enhancing problem solving skills, cohesion, learning, and productivity can no longer be ignored. Proper teamwork plays an integral role in promoting the effective implementation and fulfillment of shared goals in a team project in a manner that is better and quicker. Team work also provides a solid platform on which team members can take on different responsibilities and contribute in ways that together makes the entire team an effective unit.

In many aspects of our life, it is pervasive to work in a team. No matter in company, school, or another type of team it is necessary to be a part of a team and to achieve a team goal by corporations. People join a team with different personalities, goals, values, beliefs and needs. On the one hand, these differences can be a valuable quality of teams. On the other hand, these same differences inevitably lead to different levels of conflicts as well.

Teamwork is always important when it comes to finding the best solution to a problem; therefore, it is better to work with somebody than against them. For example, The Office critical case analysis involved a communication barrier in managerial decision making between Krista Acklen, director of the public art program, and John Mitchell, director of parks and recreation, over limited office space. John went with his own decision without consulting Krista for her input on a reasonable solution to the problem of limited office space. In my opinion,

written by Katzenbach and Smith called “The Discipline of Teams”. This article was written to

Building and leading a high performing team takes planning. In order to develop a successful team, a good leader must first have a reasonable and concrete expectation of the end goal as well as a solid understanding of the teams components. Once the team is formed, in order for the leader to successfully successfully guide his or her team, an environment of trust must be built, adequate resources must be supplied, timely feedback supplied, and positive reinforcement paired with recognition distributed. These are things that I learned along the way in my experiences as a manager in my various careers. I saw what worked for my managers, and what backfired. I tried to apply those in practice, and made many mistakes along the way. The keys are to determine what defines a high performing team, and to lead rather than direct.