About this Resource

Managing Research Projects

Managing Research Projects

Managing Team Dynamics

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  • Well managed and good team relationships will ensure effective team working and ultimately successful completion of the project
  • Finding a balance between work and personal life encourages members to work more effectively individually and within the team.
Teams are people. And people have certain needs when working together in teams." (Chang 1995).
  • Poorly managed relationships may promote or hide  'social loafing' (West 1994), which, if not identified and eradicated, will demotivate other team members and reduce the effort of the team overall.
  • A hierarchical team structure which excludes members from making decisions will result in poor relationships within the team.
  • 'Barriers to good performance are social loafing, poor decision making process and inappropriate allocation of roles and responsibilities' (West 1994).
  • Beware 'defence mechanisms' (West 1994) generating from blame cultures in organisations.
I noticed on one team that the composition changed and the dynamics changed and the way people worked together changed" (quote from research data).
  • Learn about team members' background and preferred/available methods of communication. Also consider cultural differences between organisations and nations that may affect project progress.
  • Ensure clarity about roles and equal allocation of responsibilities. Implement open and honest communication strategies that support and motivate team members to achieve their objectives.
  • Be aware of and manage changing dynamics resulting from changes in team members or responsibilities.
  • Incorporate the views of all team members.
  • Involve all team members in decision making process, but not necessarily make the decisions.
  • Resolve disputes promptly and effectively.
  • Create a project plan.
  • Identify training needs.
  • Eliminate defence mechanisms created by blame culture.
  • Consider 'job enrichment' via establishing work/life balance. Acknowledge, respect and cater for diverse needs amongst team members.
  • Provide appropriate level of delegation/supervision for team member/task.
  • Celebrate success, e.g., milestone achievements.