TEAM EFFECTIVENESS AND AWARENESS OF CONFLICT

Effective teams encourage thinking beyond normal options.

Teams have the potential to synergize the thoughts... of their different members.

Teams that are comfortable with cognitive conflict can quickly identify and address the problem and its possible solutions. They can evaluate different alternatives quickly and efficiently without worrying about the political ramifications of their choices. Teams that are uncomfortable with conflict tend either to avoid it altogether or allow the conflict to drift onto any number of unrelated issues.

Effective teams encourage thinking beyond normal options. Creativity comes from getting the group to think of problems differently and finding solutions that approach the problem from a totally new perspective.

Teams have the potential to synergize the thoughts and perspectives of their different members. Consequently, teams often produce innovative solutions to problems that seem insurmountable to single individuals.

Conflicts that arouse personal animosity and strain the interpersonal relationships among the team members obstruct creativity.

EFFECTIVENESS, INVOLVEMENT, AND OPEN COMMUNICATION

Effective teams have more open communication than less effective teams. Open communications are central to getting sincere involvement from team members, which enhances decision quality and reinforces team consensus and acceptance.

When disagreements seem to be self-serving, promoting the interests of one at the expense of another, team members adopt a defensive stance that prevents open and honest communication.

Effective teams make the fullest possible use of all their members (integration). Effective teams are conscious of the need to include and get the best from all of the members of the team. In less effective groups, there is often a disproportionate contribution between members.

Leaders of effective teams help to integrate all team members by seeking out opinions of those who are less active and attempting to moderate the contribution of those members who monopolize the discussion.

Teams become more effective only when they encourage the good conflict (cognitive) and restrain the bad conflict (affective).