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Team Dynamics: Challenges and Benefits of Working in Teams
Evan Berry
University of Phoenix
Gen300 Skills for Professional Development
Siroos Mostaghimi

Team Dynamics: Challenges and Benefits of Working in Teams
At its most basic, a team is simply a group of individuals who work together toward a common goal. But simply putting a group of people together does not make a team. In order for a group of people to become organized into a highly functioning, well-organized machine, there are several obstacles that must be addressed and overcome. What issues must be addressed before a group of individuals can actually be called a team?
Challenges to creating a team
“Some experts in the field of team dynamics point to an unclear team mission as the single largest reason for a team’s failure.” (Thoman, 2000). Knowing this, the project manager first needs to tell everyone the reason for the team’s creation and what is expected of them. After the team’s purpose has been made clear, the rules for team member communication need to be set (Thoman, 2000). Once the team understands how often they are required to communicate, the last step toward creating a solid foundation can be addressed. Finally, everyone should have specific jobs assigned to them. (Thoman, 2000). If everyone in a team understands and agrees with what is expected of them, a group of individuals is more likely to grow into a successful team.
Having a solid foundation is just the beginning to creating and managing a successful team. The team members also need to learn to rely on each other. Unless all the team members know each other, trust issues are likely to arise. In order to be able to trust team members, Patrick Lencioni (2002) suggests that all the members of a team answer three questions: (1) where they grew up, (2) how many children are in their family, and (3) what was the most difficult or important challenge of their...