Managing Dynamics

Managing the team’s interpersonal dynamics involves understanding the personalities of individual team members, as well as the communication and interaction styles of each member. Managing the interpersonal dynamics of the team also requires anticipating when conflicts or clashes may arise due to differences in personalities. Being well-prepared to manage challenges in the interpersonal dynamics can help facilitate a sense of team cohesion and productivity.

Key Issues and Challenges

A key challenge in managing the planning team’s internal dynamics is managing the diverse personalities of the people within the team. Diversity is important and advantageous for the team as they engage in sensemaking and complex problem solving (see Assembling the Team). But diversity within the team can also lead to considerable challenges in managing team members with widely varying personalities, experiences, and perspectives. This challenge becomes even greater when external subject matter experts and non-military partners are brought into the team temporarily. External partners may have personal agendas, varying views of the military and the military’s mission, and goals that are distinct from the planning team’s mission and objectives.

Another major challenge involves ensuring that everyone’s ideas and perspectives get into the mix. Some individuals on the team are likely to be very comfortable speaking up and sharing their views and ideas; these members may (intentionally or not) dominate the discourse. Other team members may be more comfortable listening than talking, or may be reticent in response to strong, vocal personalities. On teams where certain people dominate the conversation, access to the full range of viewpoints and perspectives can be reduced. It is the responsibility of both the team leader and other team members to create opportunities for those who are less vocal to contribute to the discourse.

Tips and Things to Consider

There is an extensive literature available on team dynamics and conflict management. Our intent is not to summarize the entire field, but to offer a few strategies that experienced planning team leaders have found helpful for managing the internal dynamics of their teams. (Note that many of these practices can be considered as part of Getting the Team Ready to Work)

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Discuss and agree upon the dynamic for the team (Expand)

Early in the team’s lifecycle, the team should consider and discuss the type of atmosphere and tone the team should have. Team members should ask themselves: “What dynamic should we have as a team? And how can we foster it?” For example, should the team climate be such that conflict is not only acceptable, but desirable and expected? Should the team expect team members to call one another out if they seem to be agreeing too much with others' views? Is it ok if the discussion gets heated and contentious at times? The team should work together to articulate and create a set of norms that all members can agree to. Explicitly raising these questions as discussion topics can help set norms and expectations across the team, and give team members a baseline for monitoring themselves and their interactions.

“You don’t want a group where everyone is sitting around agreeing with each other.”

(U.S. Army MAJ)

Anticipate ways in which the desired team dynamic might be threatened (Expand)

Once the team has achieved a common view of the desired internal dynamic, it can be valuable for the team to ask itself: “What are the ways this dynamic might get off track?” One way the team might examine this question is through use of a pre-mortem exercise. By identifying and discussing the behaviors that could steer the team away from its intended climate, members can recognize and address these behaviors if and when they occur.

Learn about the team members (Expand)

Part of effectively managing the interpersonal team dynamics is understanding the diverse personalities, skill sets, and experiences that members bring to the team. Consider using tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Gallup Strengths Finders, in combination with activities such as personal story telling to learn about team members. Understanding the individuals comprising the team can be helpful for a variety of purposes including:
- Interpreting the actions and behaviors of individual team members.
- Matching individuals to tasks that best suit their skill sets.
- Negotiating team member roles.
- Anticipating barriers to progress.
- Understanding and anticipating preferred modes of communicating and interacting with others in the team context.
- Understanding different styles of learning and processing information.
- Anticipating, understanding, and managing conflicts among team members if/when they occur.

“[In Strengths Finders]…one of the primary categories is called execution. I had one team that was really balanced with this, this, and this but had no executor…but they were aware. Each person was more aware of their strengths. They knew what they had on the team, but could also see what lacking.”

(Civilian Designer)

Create a “team strengths profile” (Expand)

Create a “team strengths profile” by combining everyone’s strengths from the Strength Finder’s (Note) inventory. Discuss the overlapping areas and the gaps that exist. Develop ideas for compensating for the gaps. Visualize the profile on a whiteboard or other visualization medium for members to refer to periodically.

Convey expectations about conflict within the team (Expand)

Openly discuss the reality of conflict within the team and communicate expectations for the team’s climate (i.e., lively debate, energetic exchange, open sharing and critique of ideas for the purposes of gaining deeper understanding). Acknowledge that conflict may be uncomfortable at times, but that there is value in actively (yet respectfully) questioning one another’s ideas and perspectives. Communication breakdowns and conflicts are important opportunities for reflection and learning.

Recognize different types of conflict (Expand)

While task-based conflict (i.e. conflict centered on ideas and work processes) can be productive, interpersonal conflict (i.e., personal attacks) can stifle creativity, erode trust, and impede team performance. Interpersonal conflict can also interfere with team members’ abilities to process information by adding to their mental load and diverting their attention away from the team’s task . Recognize conflict that is damaging, and minimize it to the greatest extent possible.

“One of the best ways we’ve learned to deal with tension is that we’re not conflicting or challenging individuals personally. Looking at this as learning, not attacking. It’s the ideas, the theories. Important to say: “We’re doing this to learn.” [which] has made it helpful to keep things at a manageable level.”

(U.S. Army LTC)

Seek opportunities to mine productive conflict (Expand)

The team leader, with help from team members, should seek opportunities to bring areas of task-related conflict to the forefront for team discussion and deeper understanding. Some “starter language” for doing so includes:
- “The point that [insert name] just made doesn’t seem to be resonating wth you. Explain to us what you’re thinking.”
- “You seem to be disagreeing with that concept, explain to us where you’re not aligned.”
- “Tell us why that theory doesn’t make sense from your perspective.”
- “I saw you shaking your head…can you help us understand what’s causing you concern about that idea?”

“If I had two guys that didn’t get along, I’d intentionally put them together…you don’t want a group where everyone is sitting around agreeing with each other.”

(U.S. Army MAJ)

Address difficult personalities (Expand)

Team leaders reported a range of approaches they have used to manage challenging individuals (i.e., those who dominate discussion, dismiss other’s ideas, or engage in personal attacks). In certain cases, team leaders have used a direct approach and confronted the person within the context of the team interaction. Other team leaders have found it helpful to have side conversations with the individual. A strategy one team leader used was to remind the team of the ground rules the members had agreed to. In extreme cases, team leaders have removed the difficult team member from the team, and sought out a replacement who was a better fit for the team’s goals and work style.

Implement a “spectrum policy” (Expand)

The spectrum policy acknowledges that all ideas or viewpoints have both good (useful) and bad (not useful) aspects. Despite the amount of bad aspects there might be, there is always some good in an idea. Instead of responding with “that won’t work because…” or “that doesn’t make sense because…”, encourage the team to look at the idea as a spectrum, and pick out a good part of it to build upon constructively. This can help to keep the owner of the idea engaged, and also preserves team momentum.

Ensure everyone’s ideas get into the mix (Expand)

Recognize when a particular team member has not spoken for a period of time and create opportunities for these individuals to share their ideas. Be attuned to relatively simple things such as:
- Who has the marker in his/her hand at any given time? The person standing at the whiteboard holding the marker is the person whose idea will be listened to. Keep track of marker/whiteboard access, and make sure everyone in the group gets some time up at the board.
- If one person is typing, are they typing the ideas as people said them? Or are they filtering/editing? It can be helpful to have a designated “recorder” for the group, and it is important that ideas are recorded as spoken.
- Who has been quietly taking notes in his/her notebook? Pause at points to ask them to share what they have been noting.
Other practices to ensure all team members’ ideas get into the mix include:
- Assign “homework” that people are to bring prepared to present. Ask for a volunteer to present first and then go round- robin to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to give their unique point of view.
- Invite everyone to make a chart that scales certain modes of communication according to how comfortable they are with each one: phone, text, face-to-face, Skype, Twitter, blog, etc. Discuss the findings, and decide as a team whether it makes sense to have modes of communication beyond face-to-face to support teamwork.
- Create silence. Achieving silence for a moment is important when some members are not speaking. Sometimes one team member can monopolize the conversation by stepping on the comments of others; they take over the conversation before anyone else can get in a word edgewise. When this happens, the team leader has to step in and call on quiet members for their comments. Left unattended, monopolized conversations lead to dysfunctional team meetings and resentment on the part of those who could not participate.

Actively monitor and reflect on the team’s dynamic (Expand)

Allow time for reflection and team discussion on the team’s work styles, processes and internal dynamics. Remind the team of the climate the members wanted to create. Is that climate being achieved? If not, what is getting in the way? Taking time periodically for these discussions can ultimately lead to gains in the team’s productivity.

Address common triggers for destructive conflict (Expand)

As part of the reflection process, identify and note any common factors that the team has noticed tend to trigger unproductive (i.e., interpersonal) conflict. Discuss how those triggers can be avoided or minimized.

Tools and Resources

This section provides a set of tools and resources that planning teams may find helpful for preparing the team to work together and for doing the work itself. The tools and resources are organized around the following topic areas: 1) exercises to prepare the team to work together, 2) exercises and videos for preparing the mental workspace, 3) assessment tools, and 4) suggested reading.

Exercises

Pre-Mortem [PDF]
Description: Exercise to identify and address key vulnerabilities in a plan or team vision.

Plus/Delta [PDF]
Description: Exercise to identify and discuss aspects of team process that are working well, and aspects that need to be changed.

Background Exploration Exercise [PDF]
Description: Allows team members to better understand what each individual brings to the team by sharing personal experiences and backgrounds with the team.

Engaging Everyone – Liberating Structures [PDF]
Description: A handbook containing a range of exercises including ice breakers, physical space suggestions, creative thinking techniques, question asking techniques, and approaches for improving interpersonal and team communication.

Assessment tools

Team Role Experience and Orientation (TREO) [PDF]; TREO Survey [PDF]
Description: A teamwork style survey developed by the Army Research Institute (ARI). Designed to help teams and team members examine their preferences and how they typically work in a team.

Clifton StrengthsFinder
Description: Assessment test to uncover one’s personal strengths.

The Cognitive-Style Inventory [PDF]
Description: Assessment to identify cognitive styles and help to anticipate benefits and drawbacks for each.

MAKING SENSE OF COMPLEX PROBLEMS