Assessing the Effectiveness of Team Members

Team Effectiveness and Organizational Performance

Team effectiveness can have a substantial impact on organizational performance. An effective team can assist a company in achieving remarkable achievements by working collaboratively. Unnecessary business disruptions, costs, and utter failure of the team’s mission and organizational strategic direction result from ineffective teams. Great teams leverage each other’s strengths and weaknesses to form a cohesive workforce that inspires and instills confidence in each individual’s unique ability (Miller 2003).

Critical Personality Dimensions

I agree with the results of the assessment based on the big five personality dimensions, which comprise openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness and are used to determine an individual’s personality traits. Based on the findings a high percentile in agreeableness illustrate an individual’s quality of being motivated, caring, less prejudiced, empathetic and able to maintain positive working relations with others. A high percentile in conscientiousness indicates traits of being dutiful, organized, orderly and responsible as individuals who are less in conscientiousness are viewed as being unstructured, careless and spontaneous (West et al. 2008).

Openness and Extraversion in Individual Assessments

A high score in openness in individual assessments indicates a high degree of being creative, insightful, whimsical and likely to explore new ideas. People who are characterized as open-minded, love new experiences and tend to be more liberal politically. Individuals who score low in openness prefer routine and feel more confident in their current thoughts and ideas. Persons who have a high percentile in extraversion tend to be, talkative, sociable and like being surrounded by people. They are considered as risk takers, adventurous, and tend to depict positive emotions. Individuals who are low in extraversion prefer social situations which allow close involvement and engagements with few individuals. Based on the assessments a low percentile in neuroticism characterizes individuals as being emotionally stoic. A low percentile indicates that individuals do not experience a broad array of negative emotions and in extreme situations, the person may not be aware or afraid of the dangers around them (Baker et al. 2006).

The Impact of Social Loafing

Social loafing refers to a phenomenon where an individual/individuals in a group or team tend to exert less effort when undertaking of a particular task as compared to when working on an individual basis. I have never engaged in social loafing as it creates unhealthy group dynamics and can hinder the overall objective and purpose of the group. Teamwork seeks to improve the outcome of a task to be accomplished by pooling together the talents and skills of the individuals working in that group. The tendency of group participants to contribute less to the team’s task than if they were doing the same task themselves often leads to social loafing (West et al. 2008).

Negative Impacts of Social Loafing

Social loafing negatively impacts on the performance of the individuals in the group. Group dynamics often reduces when individual members are labeled weak in contributing to the group’s role. Social loafing leads to decrease in productivity, morale, trust, and lack of cohesion among the group members. Social loafing breeds resentments in groups resulting in the decline in productivity and emotional tension among the team members. The disparity in effort between members of a group creates a rift as opposed to maintaining the level of excellence towards achieving the team’s and intended organizational outcomes. (Baker et al. 2006).

Benefits of Teamwork

Teamwork fosters creativity and learning by combining the unique perspectives of team members which provide various opportunities for undertaking a task. Teamwork helps an individual to become more competent by learning new skills which can be applied in the actual workplace. Teamwork enables team members to be more enthusiastic and responsible both individually and collectively by creating a sense of ownership to the organization. Teamwork maximizes the shared knowledge in the workplace. Working collaboratively on a project creates the enthusiasm for gaining new insights which solitary work usually lacks. The ability to share discoveries with the rest of the team excites employees and fosters both group and individual performances (Miller 2003).

Building Trust and Strong Working Relationships

Teamwork promotes a broad sense of ownership while facilitating the employees’ working relations. Creating a notable work environment and overcoming barriers creates a sense of fulfillment among the team members. Exceeding the company’s goals and objectives enables employees to feel connected, builds their loyalty and leads to job satisfaction. Working in teams helps to build trust and enhances strong working relationships with the co-workers. An efficient team shares a strong bond and enjoys working together despite the occasional disagreements. Building trust establishes the foundation of a productive relationship. Trust provides a sense of safety and creates an environment where ideas and practical solutions to problems may emerge (West et al. 2008).

Tuckman’s Theory of Group Dynamics

The theory on group dynamics by Tuckman’s theory highlights key five stages of team and group development which include; forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning. At forming stage group members schedule a meeting to interact and know their leaders, discuss their primary goals, plans, and the overall objective of the group. During the storming stage team members may express feelings of dissatisfaction with their new roles as different ideas and techniques arise while working with the team or group (Miller 2003).

The norming stage is a stage where stress and emotional levels return to normal as team members familiarize themselves with their new tasks and adapt to their new responsibilities. At this stage conducive working relationships are furnished, and team members work collaboratively towards the project. The performing stage becomes the focal point of the group as group members use their skills and talents and work rapidly towards the end goal. The adjourning stage marks the end of the successful task completion and group members can disband and go their separate ways (Baker et al. 2006).

Enhanced Efficiency and Employee Relations

Teamwork enhances the efficiency of work as it enables teams to accomplish tasks more efficiently as opposed to handling projects individually. Working together as a team reduces the workloads associated with a particular task by allowing employees to share responsibilities or ideas to perform a task successfully. Teamwork reduces pressure from work-related issues and allows the individual to focus on the completion of the assigned roles best suited to their area of specialization. The group members level of skill and competency positively influences the efficiency and speed of the employee’s output in completing a task (West et al. 2008).

Teamwork improves employee relations by providing employees with the opportunity to work and bond together. The ability of team members to contribute towards the success of a project defines how team members relate to each other. Teamwork enables group members to feel valued and appreciated upon the successful completion of assigned tasks. Teamwork enhances cohesion and builds trust among members thereby improving their working relations. Teamwork increases accountability as team members do their best to contribute to the overall success of the team. Working together as a team provides a learning environment for new employees who acquire skills from more experienced and seasoned members of staff (Baker et al. 2006).

Conclusion

Teamwork improves every aspect of the organization performance by raising the levels of morale, efficiency, and creativity of the team members. Teamwork produces more motivated members, creates a sense of ownership, and maximizes everyone’s involvement and participation by utilizing their strengths in their special areas of expertise. Working in teams produces better results, enhances quality performances from individual members of the group.

References

Baker, D. P., Day, R., & Salas, E. (2006). Teamwork as an essential component of high‐reliability organizations. Health services research, 41(4p2), 1576-1598.

Miller, D. L. (2003). The stages of group development: A retrospective study of dynamic team processes. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l’Administration, 20(2), 121-134.

West, M. A., & Markiewicz, L. (2008). Developing effective teams. Building Team-Based Working: A Practical Guide to Organizational Transformation, 96-119.