3.7 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Managing Emotion in Your Team

(EXTRACTION FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Team Management Skills at http://www.mindtools.com)

Maintaining Harmony in a Group

Studies have shown that emotions, especially negative emotions, can spread from person to person.  When workers hold negative emotions, they'll probably experience bad effects.

Helping Your Team Work More Effectively

Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist and change management expert noted that people often take on distinct roles and behaviors when they work in a group.

COMMON PROBLEMS CAUSING POOR GROUP DYNAMICS
Weak leadership	Lead to a lack of direction, infighting, or focus on the wrong priorities
Excessive deference to authority	People want to be seen to agree with the leader, and therefore hold back from expressing their own opinions
Blocking	Blocking roles: ·        the aggressor ·        the negator ·        the withdrawer ·        the recognition seeker ·        the joker
Group think	Placing a desire for consensus above their desire to reach the right decision
Free riding	Limiting their contribution in group situations (social loafing)
Evaluation apprehension	People feel they are being judged excessively harshly by others, thus they hold back their opinion

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING TEAM DYNAMICS
Know Your Team	·        guide the development of your group ·        learn about the phases that a group goes through as it develops
Tackle Problems Quickly	·        act quickly ·        Provide feedback
Define Roles and Responsibilities	·        Create a team charter
Break Down Barriers	·        get to know one another ·        help people open up ·        Lead by example
Focus on Communication	·        Open communication ·        communicating clearly
Pay Attention	·        Pay particular attention to frequent unanimous decisions