DEALING WITH GROUP PROBLEMS IN TEAMS

In team situations, conflict can arise and the disagreements can become very emotional, often polarizing members and causing differences of opinion to become win-lose struggles at any cost. Sometimes an individual can disrupt a team with his or her behavior, or an entire team can get off the track and not be productive. The following are some ways to deal with problems to allow a team to get back to the work at hand.

Anticipate and prevent problems whenever possible. Most problems can be anticipated or prevented if a group spends time developing itself into a team: getting to know each other, establishing ground rules, and discussing norms for group behavior. If you do this when your team starts, you will save time and prevent hassles, frustrations, and animosities.

Think of each problem as a group problem. A natural tendency is to blame individuals for causing problems. Remember, most problems are attributable to the system, not the individual. The truth is that many problems arise because the group lets them happen or even encourages them in some way. Examine each problem in light of what the group does to encourage or allow the behavior and what the group can do differently to encourage more constructive behavior.

Neither overreact or under react. Some behaviors are only fleeting disruptions in the team’s progress. These are usually not a problem and sometimes even give a needed break in the activity. Other behaviors are disruptive and impede, halt, or reverse the team’s progress toward its goals. Some behaviors are chronic, occurring over and over again. The team leader should respond appropriately to the seriousness of the problem, ignoring fleeting disruptions, and confronting chronic or serious disruptions directly. Experienced leaders develop a range of responses to typical problems. This way they can “crank up” the response.

Tactics for conflict intervention. To make intervention effective, you must carefully structure the environment in which it takes place. To do this:

Ø Select neutral territory

Ø Make sure the setting is informal

Ø Make sure all appropriate people are present

Ø Set an agenda and ground rules; stick to them

Ø Manage the time carefully, and

Ø Use active listing and constructive feedback skills throughout the intervention.