Psychology of Team Management Dynamics - Case Study Example

Changes in dynamics of a small team when a new member arrives and an experienced member leaves Introduction This essay deals with the psychologyof teams and shows the dynamics of team management and changes in team behaviour when an experienced member of the team leaves and is replaced by a new member who has to be given training and get accustomed to the working of the team. The topic here is about a nursing team, largely self directed and has a team leader and shows how the dynamics of the team changes with the change in team membership. The discussion also highlights theory on team membership and nursing team management and show how the theories on team management and team behaviour and team psychology also relates to the practice of team management and actual behaviour of the team as a whole. The behaviour of the team as a whole may in certain cases change with the inclusion or exclusion of a member and this essay will suggest how the leaving of an experienced member and induction of a new member brings about considerable changes in group dynamics. The essay uses theories of Belbin and Tuckman as well as other models to show the changes in team behaviour with the induction of new team members of leaving of old more experienced members. Team Dynamics Group or team dynamics focuses on the constantly changing relationships and influences between people within a team and it is usually seen that group dynamics change rapidly along with changing objectives of the team and change or replacement of team members. A team that fails to achieve objectives is considered dysfunctional and this may be due to external or internal factors. Beddoes-Jones has cited Belbin's team roles theory to understand how team roles could be applicable in learning and training. It is important to understand team dynamics and team roles when there is a team and training given or when the team gets dysfunctional or when a group forms a team and the team is in its first stages. According to Tuckman's (1965) process model of group dynamics, when people come together to work for same objectives, they form a team and this is called the Forming Stage of a team. When people in a team interact, there is a general identification of team roles, as well as identification of people's strengths, weaknesses and this would be the Storming Stage. When people in a team start establishing boundaries, they feel comfortable and their behaviours become more Normalized which is the third stage. When the group begins to perform according to its objectives, this is the fourth Performance stage as the team spirit gets stronger. The final stage is disintegration or disruption in the team and this happens when team composition changes and the members enter a state of Mourning when there is a sense of loss about previous group dynamics or group members. Whenever there is a set of new objectives or when the team becomes dysfunctional or fails to perform or when tasks or roles within the team change, there is a shift in team dynamics. Boddoes-Jones mentions that team dynamics will change frequently due to changes in team objectives or focus or simply due to change in attitudes or tasks, team roles, etc and even if the members remain the same there will be change in team dynamics. However the psychological changes in team behaviour and change in team dynamics would be the greatest when there is a change in composition or replacement of team members. When one or more team members leave and are replaced by new members, not only do the new members take time to learn and adjust to the team rules and working pattern but the old team members also feel a sense of loss for the members who left and may even have difficulties adjusting to the new team members. Some groups retain their old team members and are stuck at the Performance stage and do not move on to the fifth Mourning stage as they do not have replacement of old team members. However the Mourning stage of loss is inevitable once objectives of the team are achieved and the team is dispersed. Certain depressed and sad groups that cannot move on with new members are stuck at the Mourning stage and groups with arguing team members that cannot remain productive are stuck at the Storming stage. In this manner, groups can remain stuck at the different stages of Tuckman's model and this would suggest that the team has failed to grow out of that stage and rowing out or going past each stage is necessary for the development of the groups and for fulfillment of tasks and general group performance. Knowledge of team psychology and team theories and models such as Belbin's model or Tuckman's stages model could improve a team manager's personal balance and help create a safe environment and also ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience. Team managers can become role models through knowledge and skills and the increase of such skills and knowledge can be transferred to other aspects of life as well. Belbin has specified nine team roles that are important in maintenance of the dynamics of any team. These would be Shaper, Team worker, Plant, Resource/Investigator, Monitor/Evaluator, Completer-Finisher, Implementer, Co-ordinator and Specialist. The team roles are also divided among these none types of team players as coordinators and shapers help in leading the team, implementers or completer-finishers help in doing or achieving tasks for the team, monitor/evaluator, plants and specialists are like think tanks or analysts and help in thinking or solving problems within the team. Resource investigators and team workers socialize and expand the reach of the team and are the players in socializing and broadening the team's impact and presence. Belbin's roles and the description of these roles specified below suggest the framework according to which the team players in a team could be classified. From: http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/belbin.htm Overall Belbin roles Description Doing / acting Implementer Uses theoretical ideas in practice. Organized, slow to work and predictable but this team member gets things done. Shaper Energetic, leader, challenges others to follow and be more progressive. Completer/Finisher May not trust others and worries about the completion of the tasks. Sees through completion of task and projects and makes sure objectives are achieved. Thinking / problem-solving Plant Poor communicator but has original ideas and this can be used to solve problems. Monitor/Evaluator Does not take leadership roles to inspire others but evaluates the pros and cons of the project and the actions to present a bigger picture of the issues involved. Specialist Has specific and expert knowledge in a particular field and uses this knowledge for judgment on related issues and analysis. Specialist may not be interested in a broad range of topics. People / feelings Coordinator Coordinators can be controlling but sees that everyone if focused on the work. Team worker Team workers help resolve social and internal team problems and cares for individuals. Resource/investigator Such an individual is a good networker and explores new ideas and possibilities with enthusiasm. A balanced team is one in which the strengths and weaknesses of the members are balanced and in which team members are also balanced and know their roles. For the right kind of balance in a team, there should be one coordinator or shaper, or rather one leader, a plant for the ideas, monitor or evaluator who will help in maintaining transparency and accountability in the team, and one or more implementer, team worker and resource investigator and completer/finisher who actually perform the tasks. Coghlan (1994) suggests that there are many different aspects of groups in organisational life and groups or teams tend to have informal influence on individual members through socialization, enforcement of norms and development of culture and these influences also show how individuals respond to organizational change. Teambuilding has been considered as critical to group responses to changes in different issues and this is done through formal teams, temporary task forces and committees. This discussion is largely focused on the implications of teamwork in primary healthcare and several published studies including one by Manning et al (2006) identify the barriers to effective teamwork. The theories of team effectiveness could be especially applied to primary healthcare settings and in the paper, Manning et al describe the theory of team innovation and the constituency approach and suggest that team building interventions are a way of improving team effectiveness. The outcomes of the primary healthcare team workshop could be evaluated in terms of team effectiveness. Sustaining good relations among team members and effective or expected team performance with good outcomes would be some of the measures that can define success of team working. Manning et al (2006) measured team effectiveness through self assessment of team members, patient satisfaction, family health service and these measures could be used for health promotion. Developing a model of team effectiveness would be necessary for primary healthcare teams and can provide as reference for diagnosis and guidance for such teams and their work. With reference to health care teams, when an experienced member leaves the team, and a new member joins, sustaining good relations among team members would go a long way in improving team performance despite changes in team dynamics and disruption of team composition. The effectiveness of a team depends on several factors such as the relations between team members, team roles and how each member fulfils such roles. Within a primary healthcare setting, the nurse, nurse manager, hospital manager, physician, social workers and other healthcare professionals have to work together with coordination to enable a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare. Teamwork includes understanding or identifying one's tasks, fulfilling these tasks well, using team objectives to delineate the approach that should be taken to team work, building rapport with other members of the team and presenting leadership skills or coordinating skills to steer the team towards its goals. Teamwork in case of primary healthcare can be defined in terms of team theories of Belbin's team roles and Tuckman's stages of team building. Belbin's theory shows the different roles of team members and how these roles are fulfilled and Tuckman's theory shows the different stages of team building in a coordinated effort and what happens when there is a change in team composition. Conclusion The dynamics of the team changes in case of replacement that is when an experienced member leaves and a new member joins or when there is a change in team composition due to change in team goals and objectives. There may be new team members when old tasks are attained and new tasks are at hand or simply when the set of objectives identified by the team have changed. In case of healthcare if an experienced nurse manager or nurse leaves the team, the new nurse who enters the team would be given training and introduction on the team goals and objectives and the new member may change the dynamics of the team considerably. Considering Tuckman's final stage of Mourning, the members may mourn the loss of an old member before adjusting to the new team member and the new member will have to emphasize on establishing a good relationship with other members. Initially, establishing a good rapport with other team members is the first step for a new member and aids in the ultimate team effectiveness and performance. Bibliography Balderson, Susan J;Broderick, Amanda J (1996) Behaviour in teams: exploring occupational and gender differences Journal of Managerial Psychology, Volume 11,Number 5, pp. 33-42(10) Beddoes-Jones, F. & Miller, J. (2005). The Psychology of Teams. Fenman. Belbin R Meredith (1993/2003) Team Roles at Work. Butterworth Heinemann Coghlan D. (1994) Managing Organizational Change through Teams and Groups Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Volume 15,Number 2, pp. 18-23(6) Tuckman, B.W. Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, vol. 63, 1965, pp. 384-399. Manning, Tony;Parker, Richard;Pogson, Graham (2006) A revised model of team roles and some research findings Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 38,Number 6, pp. 287-296(10) Myers S. (2002) 'MTR-i: A new arena for team roles' Training Journal Poulton B.C.;West M.A. (1993) Effective multidisciplinary teamwork in primary health care Journal of Advanced Nursing, Volume 18,Number 6, pp. 918-925(8) Website: http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/belbin.htm Read More