- Teamwork may be explained as an activity which is performed in combination with two or more individuals in order to attain effective and efficient outcomes from the performed action. A vital element for effective performance of teams is communication (Lantz, 2011).
Intra team conflict is one of the communication barriers in which every team member tries to promote their own agendas and objectives resulting in a lack of synchronization among the team members. In this the conflict results as a result of difference in opinion which may lead to the breakdown of a team (Gamero, Gonzalez-Roma & Peiro, 2008). Another barrier may pose due to lack of accurate and authentic disclosure. Intra team politics is one of the most plausible reasons for people to distort or hold back information. Another reason may be personal reason for individuals to being dishonest and not disclose information.
Communication barriers may result due to the fact that the team may not have clarity in objectives or the tasks to be performed. This may result in further lack of synchronization and the only manner to resolve this is to effectively plan and work out clear objectives and goals (Tekleab, Quigley & Tesluk, 2009).
Another severe communication barrier to effective functioning of team is the lack of probing. It has been often found that the lack of elicit data makes team functioning difficult. In order to garner data it is essential that the team members should engage in all sorts of probing including reflective statements, summaries, pauses, open end probes and neutral probes. Yet, in practical situations it has been witnessed that teams do not exhaustively elicit information and this results in communication breakdown.
It is essential that the group functions together. It has been often witnessed that severe communication barriers may result due to differences in status and power. This is found in teams which may be multicultural in nature and differences in values and culture may result in clash in opinion and functioning style thereby leading to complete team breakdown (Peltokorpi & Clausen, 2011).
- One of the most inherent causes of behavioral conflict in a team may arise from the differences in culture and language. The differences in core values and cultures may lead to difference in opinion and the manner in which team members’ function. Sometimes conflict may arise due to lack of ethics or the preservation of personal integrity and hence teams should be encouraged to practice ethical codes of conduct.
Another cause of behavioral conflict may arise from power differences. These may emerge from diverse perspectives with reference to education, culture, age, experience, tenure of service and the generation gap (Watson et al. 2008). Conflict in the style of working may also result in team conflict. The style of working may differ from person to person depending on the attitudes and traits. There may be some members who may actively participate in order to meet deadlines whereas others who may like to get the tasks done in the last minute and this may result in clash due to the working style.
Conflict in the perception of team members may further lead to clashes in teams and may lead to the emergence of adverse team cultures like gossiping and turf wars. Perception differences may be due to the presence of office politics and may be as a result of clash in accountabilities of different team members.
The other two most common causes of behavioral conflict in teams are conflicting pressures and negative attitudes. Conflicting pressures arise when a team member is dependent on the other for a particular task which needs to be urgently completed. On the other hand negative attitude of a team member towards performing a particular task within a given time also results in team conflict.
- Conflict is a very common feature in teamwork. Conflict may take place as a result of difference in opinions of team members. The manner in which a conflict situation is taken care of determines the manner of conflict resolution. One of the most common manners to resolve team conflict is to try and understand the different viewpoints of team members. It is highly essential that a team member tries to make understand acknowledge that there exists a conflict in the team. Accordingly, the conflict impact and the manner in which it is impacting performance of team members need to be discussed. It is essential that the team member actively communicates with other team members and discuss with other team members to cooperate so as to successfully resolve conflict. In fact, a very important part of communication is listening. A team member can listen to the viewpoints of conflicting parties and aid to negotiate a situation which is acceptable to all members and thus resolve conflict (Greer, Jehn & Mannix, 2008).
- As a team member one of my strengths is that I try and meet deadlines. I ensure that at least the work that I have been allotted is completed in time. This further aids the entire team as they are dependent on each member to complete the allotted tasks in time so as to meet a given deadline. One of my strengths is that I am a good listener. This helps me to listen to the viewpoint of other group members prior to providing my own viewpoints and opinions on a particular stand. Being a good listener also aids me to resolve conflicts and in case of clashes in the team, my team mates usually look upon me to resolve conflict by peaceful negotiation.
My skill sets allows me to work on a number of technology related issues. On the other hand, I have a strong command over English language and given the fact that most of our clients hail from U.K. and U.S.A. it is often required that a person with strong command over the language interacts with the clients if required. As a team member, I send emails and even speak to the client whenever necessary with respect to certain technology related matters.
Strength of mine is that I often come up with innovative ideas with respect to technology. This makes me a favorite in my team as I like to engage and even motivate the entire team to participate in brainstorming sessions.
One of my main weaknesses is that I feel that if I can complete a task in time, my other team members should also be able to complete given activity in a given timeframe. My absolute lack of consideration of other factors may lead to dissent situations and requires my team buddies to explain me possible reasons for not completing the activity in time. This is especially true when a particular activity of mine lies pending because a dependent activity has not been completed by a team member. My attitude of not probing upon ideas is another weakness. It is very essential to question ideas and opinions and find out the pros and cons of all options. Fortunately, one of my team colleague probes and asks questions and hence this helps in finding the most logical and possible course of action.
- Identify ways to improve own ability to function effectively in a team
My attitude to assume that team members will be able to meet deadlines is not healthy for successful team functioning. In this case, instead of becoming angry or displaying dissent with my colleagues, the logical path would be to engage and find out the reasons which prevent them from completing the activity in the given time frame. Also, I need to determine whether I have the required skills which may aid in helping my team mate to complete the activity. In most cases, activities may not be attained because the original course of action had run down in problems and there is a need to explore possible paths of action. Given the fact, that I am good in bringing out innovative ideas, I should apply the same notions to help my team colleagues.
At the same time, I should introspect and ask questions prior to presenting innovative ideas to the team. This will help to identify whether the idea is full proof and can be smoothly implemented or whether there may be inherent obstacles. At the same time, asking reflective questions on the functioning of a particular idea will also help to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the innovative idea that I am presenting.
References
Gamero, N., Gonzalez-Roma, V. & Peiro, J.M. (2008). The influence of intra-team conflict on work teams’ affective climate: a longitudinal study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81(1), 47 – 69.
Greer, L.L., Jehn, K.A. & Mannix, E.A. (2008). Conflict transformation: a longitudinal investigation of the relationships between different types of intragroup conflict and the moderating role of conflict resolution. Small Group Research, 39(3), 278 – 302.
Lantz, A. (2011). Teamwork on the line can pay off down the line. Journal of Workplace Learning, 23(2), 75 – 96.
Peltocorpi, V. & Clausen, L. (2011). Linguistic and cultural barriers to intercultural communication in foreign subsidiaries. Asian Business & Management, 10, 509 – 528.
Tekleab, A.G., Quigley, N.R. & Tesluk, P.E. (2009). A longitudinal study of team conflict, conflict management, cohesion, and team effectiveness. Group Organization Management, 34(2), 170 – 205.
Watson, W., Cooper, D., Torres, M.A. & Boyd, N.G. (2008). Team processes, team conflict, team outcomes, and gender: an examination of U.S. and Mexican learning teams. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32(6), 524 – 537.
