Organizational Teamwork

Organizational Teamwork and Groupthink

Organizational teamwork provides the best and most effective ways to perform tasks successfully in a firm. However, the success of any team is greatly afflicted by groupthink; a phenomenon that hinders uniqueness, individual creativity, and independent thinking in a group work. Social psychology alludes to groupthink as the phenomenon where the need for conformity or harmony leads to an irrational decision-making process and outcome. Strategies for coming up with teams that avoid groupthink in their decision-making are therefore integral.

Diverse Members and Impartial Leadership

First, it is vital to create a team with diverse members. Diversity in a leadership team helps in recruiting individuals who can augment skill sets in every situation and contribute positively to the group’s chemistry. Secondly, it is vital to remain an impartial leader on the team. Despite having individual opinions and preferences, a team leader should avoid stating them at the beginning of a meeting to give room for the group members to come up with superior solutions rather than to feel pressured to concur. Thirdly, it is inherently important to encourage debate and conflict within a team. This helps in curbing the fear of judgment that often obstruct creative thinking. Also, seeking an outside opinion helps in curbing groupthink. An outside member with an intention to challenge and question the group members can greatly help in rational thinking.

Effective Leadership Dos and Don’ts

Being a team leader is a challenging task; one has to balance between inspiring and guiding. The following dos and do not are therefore vital in enabling a leader to motivate, manage, and supervise the team while maintaining a good relationship with members.

Team Encouragement and Effective Communication

First, team encouragement is a huge role for the leader. Motivation and space enable members to perform at their optimum; the leader should, therefore, facilitate the tasks at hand and allow followers to fully explore their capabilities. Secondly, team leadership should employ effective communication. A two-way communication that allows both brainstorming and feedback is a great leadership aspect. Thirdly, a leader should ensure that team members are always enthusiastic and excited for optimum performance.

Leadership Don’ts

However, a leader should not discount other people’s perspective and emotions. A leader should, therefore, be empathetic and socially aware of his or her surroundings. Secondly, a team leader should not blame others for the group’s negative outcome. A leader should hold the members accountable for their performance but be in charge of the team’s success, rather than blame others. Third, leaders should not isolate themselves from others in a team. Trying to divide members in order to conquer is a failing leadership strategy.

Trust, Respect, and Job Satisfaction

Establishment of trust and respectful treatment of employees have been established to contribute greatly to job satisfaction. A great workplace is determined by the level of trust and respect that exist between employees and their leaders. Trust is developed through management’s credibility and the respect with which employees are accorded in respect to their expectations. Developing a culture of trust and respect enhances employee engagement and improves work-life quality. It also provides an organization with a competitive advantage. An organization that prides itself on the development of a culture of trust and respect has distinct practices and policies.

Practices and Policies for Trust and Respect

First, the organizations usually portray integrity and honesty in carrying out all their business dealings and visions with clients, employees, and providers consistently. Secondly, such firms encourage transparent and open two-way communications accessible to all organizational members. Third, care and competence are demonstrated when co-coordinating human resources and fair allocation of possessions. Fourth, inclusion and equal opportunities, as well as a balanced treatment of all employees, are guaranteed in all aspects of work life. Fifth, personal and professional development for all employees is supported through training and lack of discrimination in all promotional practices.

Diversity-Sensitive Culture in the Workplace

A diversity-sensitive orientation is vital to any organization. The promotion of diversity and inclusiveness in a workplace fosters a global and open-minded culture. Several strategies are employed in developing a diversity-sensitive culture.

Cultural Competency and Embracing New Perspectives

First, developing cultural competency fosters the understanding of different cultures, thus enhancing cross-cultural communication. Opening traveling opportunities and learning various cultural traditions is an important strategy. Secondly, it is vital to develop a culture that welcomes new ideas and perspectives. Individuals from different cultures employ unique ways of solving problems that might prove useful in coming up with solutions. Creating a culture where different perspectives are valued is vital in developing productive business relationships. Third, it is vital to observe diverse celebrations, traditions or holidays. Sharing such celebrations encourage diverse team building that contributes to a diverse organizational orientation.