Group Dynamics

17 Apr 2019 in BUS 110

In this lesson, we’ll explore what group dynamics are, and why they matter to our business and information systems. Then, we’ll discuss some examples of poor group dynamics, and outline some tools that you can use to deal with those situations. Handout: PDF

How well do the people in your team get along? Do they trust each other? How important are trust and respect to productivity? What impact does the quality of your team relationships have on the performance of your business? How well do you leverage the full potential of your team members? To what extent are you encouraging your team members’ diverse perspectives, skills, and experience?

When people collaborate, they work together to understand what needs to be done and decide what is the best course of action. They make the decision together and listen to each other’s preferences and concerns. In return, they offer ideas and opinions when remaining open-minded to another’s point of view. Even with an authority figure (e.g., manager, team leader), people who collaborate work with mutual respect and trust in order to achieve a common goal.

But this image of an effective and efficient team isn’t as easy as it sounds. There may be one person who is very critical of your colleagues’ ideas and, thus, discourages others from speaking up. Another team member may be silent, and hardly contribute to the group meetings at all; when asked for his opinion, he simply agrees with a more dominant colleague. Furthermore, another group member makes humorous unhelpful comments which distract others and upsets the momentum of the discussion.

These are classic examples of poor group dynamics that can undermine the success of a project as well as employees overall morale and engagement.

Contents

1. What are group dynamics?
2. What causes poor group dynamics?
3. Improving Group Dynamics
4. Project Management Statistics
   • Project Budget
   • Project Planning & Goals
   • Continued Management

What are group dynamics?

In the early 1940s, Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist, and change management expert, coined the term “group dynamics” after noticing that people often take on distinct roles and behaviors when they work in a group. As such, the term group dynamics describes the effects of these assumed roles and behaviors on other group members, and on the group itself. As researchers continue to build on Lewin’s ideas, his work has become central to good management practice.

A group with a positive dynamic is easy to spot: the team members trust each other, they work towards a collective decision, and they hold each other and themselves responsible for the success of the group as a whole. Researchers have found that when a team has a positive dynamic, its members are almost twice as creative as the average group. Whereas in a group with poor group dynamics, the group will have trouble when making a decision, or it will make the wrong choice because the members could not explore other options effectively.

What causes poor group dynamics?

Some of the most common problems that can occur while managing or working with a group:

• Weak leadership: when a team lacks a strong and clear authority, a more dominant member of the group may take charge. This can lead to a lack of direction, dispute, or focus on the wrong priorities. Many books or guides will attempt to comprehensively list the traits of a leader (such as by personality factors, birth order, gender identity, IQ) but can still fall short of your team’s vision. Nonetheless, for BUS 110, we can define a good leader as an individual with the relevant knowledge, experience, and motivation necessary for the success of your team.
• Excessive deference to authority: this can happen when people want to be seen in agreeance with a leader or dominant figure in a group. As a result, valuable team members hold back from expressing their own opinions.
• Blocking: this occurs when members behave in a way that disrupts the flow of information in the group. People can adopt blocking roles such as a(n):
  • Aggressor: an inappropriately outspoken individual who often disagrees with others (sometimes as the result of being closed-minded).
  • Negator: a group member who is often unproductively critical of others’ ideas.
  • Withdrawer: a member who does not participate in the group discussion (this is often confused with introvertism which is a natural disposition that may lead to becoming a withdrawer).
  • Recognition seeker: a member who is boastful or dominates the session
  • Joker: a member who introduces humor at inappropriate times.

  It is important to clarify that some of these characteristics (e.g., open to disagreeing, having a sense of humor) can be appropriately used and helpful. This reminds me of a quote from The Breakfast Club (1985):

  Brian: [closing narration] Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain…

  Andrew: …and an athlete…

  Allison: …and a basket case…

  Claire: …a princess…

  John: …and a criminal…

  Brian: Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

• Groupthink: this happens when group members prioritize reaching a consensus over making the right decision. This prevents people from fully exploring alternative solutions, discouraging creativity and individual responsibility. This may also lead to group polarization, where like-minded people reach an extreme or irrational decision without dispute or consideration for the alternatives.
• Free riding: group members will take it easy and leave their colleagues to do all the work. Free riders may focus strongly on and produce effectively individual work but will limit their contributions in group situations. This is social loafing, the idea that people are prone to putting in less effort on a group task versus an individual task.
• Evaluation apprehension: this happens when people withhold their ideas because they feel that they are being excessively or harshly judged by other group members.

Improving Group Dynamics

1. Build a healthy workplace culture: it’s often mistaken that a company will have a certain culture regardless of your employment at that company. In truth, each employee contributes to the overall workplace culture (e.g., by dressing a certain way, arranging conferences or events). With that said, in order to have positive group dynamics, create an environment in which people want to work and can thrive. Nurture a team culture where people behave in ways that have a positive impact on their wellbeing as well as group and individual success. This can be achieved by, for example, holding celebratory benchmark meetings or hosting traditions (such as redefining the dress code, a weekly no-elevator day, or a community charity event).
2. Value diversity and inclusion: understand and educate other team members about the power of diversity. Help others understand that having a diverse team where everyone’s opinions/ideas are heard will allow your organization to achieve its ambitious goals. One popular way of ensuring that everyone’s opinion is heard is a suggestion box or during meetings use the Crawford’s Slip Writing Method.
3. Value relationships: great teams are built on the foundations of trust and respect. When people enjoy working with one another, they are more likely to fully engage and contribute their skills/talents. A common focus on architects and interior designers today is how to design a workplace that is comfortable and encourages the natural flow of interaction. Some companies have nursing, exercise, destress rooms or cafeterias for their employees’ convenience.
4. Hire well: when hiring, it’s important to choose your staff carefully. Instead of focusing heavily on experience and skills, consider how the candidate’s values are aligned to those of your organization/team. Assess how they are likely to behave as part of the team, challenged or under pressure.
5. Hold people accountable: there is no point in setting expectations if you don’t follow through and how people accountable to them. There are many leaders that espouse corporate values but fail to act decisively to address misalignment. This sense of accountability and responsibility starts with you—lead by example, showcase what you expect, and take the steps necessary to ensure behavior matters as much as outcomes.
6. Resolve conflicts: irrespective of how healthy the corporate culture or strong the team’s bond is, things can go wrong. Recognize when members of your team are struggling to relate to one another or resolve disagreements. Encourage open, honest, respectful, and motivated discussions about conflicts.
7. Communication: this is perhaps the most important factor in positive group dynamics. Make sure that everyone is communicating clearly. Include all the forms of communication that your group uses—emails, meetings, shared documents—with some degree of centralization (e.g., SharePoint, Shared Folders, Slack, Google Drive, clear email threads).

Project Management Stats

Project Budget

• On average, projects go over budget by 27 percent of their intended cost. Harvard Business Review
• On average, one in six projects saw a budget overrun of 200 percent. Harvard Business Review
• 55 percent of project managers cited budget overrun as a reason for project failure. IT-Cortex
• 31 percent of project managers cite meeting their budget as a criterion for project success. IT-Cortex
• IT failure rates are estimated to be between 5–15 percent, accounting for a loss of $50–$150 billion per year in the United States alone. Harvard Business Review
• Projects with budgets over $1 million have a 50 percent higher failure rate than projects with budgets under $350,000. Gartner

Project Planning & Goals

• Most organizations have a 70 percent project failure rate. 4PM
• Only 64 percent of projects meet their goals. Wrike
• 17 percent of IT projects fail so badly they can threaten the existence of a company. Calleam
• 78 percent of a group of IT and business professionals reported that their business was not aligned with project goals. Geneca
• 75 percent of respondents in the same study previous state they believe their projects are always or usually slated to fail from the beginning. Geneca
• Only 58% of organizations fully understand the value of project management. PMI, 2017
• 93% of organizations report using standardized project management practices. PMI, 2017
• 68% of organizations in PMI’s annual survey said that they used outsourced or contract project managers in 2018. PMI, 2017
• Only 23% of organizations use standardized project management practices across the entire organization. 33% use standardized practices, but not across all departments. While a small portion - 7% - of organizations don’t use any standard practices at all. PMI, 2017
• The top five causes of project failure are PMI, 2017:
  • Change in the organization’s priorities (39%)
  • Change in project objectives (37%)
  • Inaccurate requirements gathering (35%)
  • Inadequate vision (29%)
  • Poor communication (29%).
• Soft skills are increasing in importance for project managers. 51% of respondents in PMI’s 2018 survey said that soft skills are more important today, while only 19% said that this skill requirement is unchanged. PMI, 2017
• Technical and leadership skills remain the most important priorities for top-performing organizations. 81% of these organizations prioritize the development of technical skills (vs 13% of underperformers), 79% prioritize leadership skills, and 70% focus on developing strategic and business management skills. PMI, 2017

Continued Project Management

• In the past year, only 14 percent of projects were deemed failures by their teams. PMI, 2017
• In 2015, companies lost $109 million for every $1 billion invested in projects. Wrike
• Now, companies lose $97 million for every $1 billion invested, a 20 percent decline. PMI, 2017
• The project management industry is projected to grow by $6.61 trillion. PMI, 2013
• 71 percent of organizations report using agile methodologies for project management. CIO