Team Dynamics
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Running head: TEAM DYNAMICS IN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
TEAM DYNAMICS IN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
University of Phoenix
Team Dynamics in a Classroom Environment
Whether its in school or at work teams play a big role in todays society, ether we like them or not, there will always be a time in our life when we have to be part of a team, either by choice or by requirement. I school we had to part of teams in the classroom or in sports, however when it comes to the real world, jobs may require people to be part of a team. When I worked as a Program Director and On Air Disc Jockey, at times it was a necessary requirement to work as one unit in order to achieve success. As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, working together is success”*Grant M. (2000) “Bright Quotations). Precisely because of this, I believe it is important to look at how Team Dynamics in a classroom environment are greatly affected both positively and negatively by different factors. These are some important factors to consider when forming a team; good leadership, personality types, good communication and avoiding making common mistakes when forming a team will be essential to achieving your goal.
Good Leadership Important to Team Dynamics
When forming a team one of the most important things is picking a good team leader. Why is this important? Because it will be this person who will guide us and give us direction to achieve a successful goal. A good team leader should be someone easy to talk to, able to make decisions, someone that gives the rest of the teammates confidence and is able to help us make sure we have the right tools and that we are able to overcome our handicaps and see our goal with clearness. “You can have a vision, but if you dont have the road map or the tools you cant get where you want to go, and you cant lead. Managers need leadership tools that give you the facts, with clarity,” According to John King, president of the statewide Roster Network (2005 Roster Technologies, Inc. Performance Management Solutions).
This person is key in achieving our goal since they are the ones that will influence others to achieve our goal. After all as Carol Buchner once said, “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you make them feel” (2006 Secrets of Success). Most leaders are not necessarily born but shaped through education, character, values, knowledge, and skills. It has been my experience that good leaders will help you obtain your goal by being objective, staying positive and not letting you fall off the road. They will take the time to know each team member and encourage them even at times of despair. They will set the example by doing their part of the workload and make sure everyone understands everything we need to complete our goal or project. Good team leaders will share the spot light with others by sharing some of the tasks and responsibilities, they will give a member a certain task, that someone might otherwise think this wasnt a good task for him/her given there personality type.
Identifying Personality Types
When joining a team it is important to define every members personality types in order to know how they may affect the team in a positive or negative way. According to Carter, Joyce Bishop, Lyman (2007) there are four personality types of the Personality Spectrum-Thinker, Organizer, Giver, and Adventurer. This is important in order to recognize each team members strengths and weaknesses. For example if you have a member thats a thinker, he may be good at analyzing a project before we even start it or when we finish it, solve problems and explore ideas and their potential. An Organizer may tend to be the more responsible person in the team, neat and organized, therefore the ideal candidate to be the tactical leader, the one who will keep us on schedule by carefully planning our meetings and study tactics. The Giver also brings some great qualities to the team, it is this person who loves to communicate and help others, this type of personality also brings passion to the table, but be careful since this type of person is also very emotional and might let their day-to-day conflicts get in the way of his or her emotions. The adventurer has the necessity to take risks and be spontaneous on a daily basis, courage is also one of their traits, but be careful because their spontaneity and willingness to risk may sometimes, forget to oversee the consequences. Picking and or analyzing the personality types of your team members is only one only one aspect to analyze in order to avoid making common mistakes. ,
Common Mistakes That Affect Team Dynamics
Throughout the years, it has been my experience that working in a team can be one of the most challenging tasks you will ever come across, since many mistakes are made when working as a team. These are some of the ones I have observed and engaged on myself; Many times, it is difficult when you have too many shy or introverted people in your team because they will not say what they want from their teammates, therefore affecting the overall results. “A common mistake teams make is the failure to recognize that in any team endeavor a leader must either be identified or emerge(Eckes, 2001,