Team Dynamics

Team Dynamics

What they are and how they affect team performance

Team Dynamics are the often-unseen 'natural forces' that strongly influence how a team reacts, behaves or performs. The effects of team dynamics are often very complex.

For example, in a small team of six people working in one office, there may be two people who have a particularly strong friendship. This friendship is a "natural force" that may have an influence on the rest of the team, and can be manifest in various ways, either positively or negatively.

The positive effect of a strong friendship in a team might be:

the friends communicate a lot together...

...which naturally results in other members being drawn into the discussion

...which results in a good 'social' feel to the group

...which makes people enjoy being in the group

...which improves motivation and commitment

The negative effect of a strong friendship might be:

to cause the other four people to feel excluded...

...which means they are less likely to include the two friends in decision making

...which means that there are likely to be two sub-groups

...which means that information may not flow across the whole group, but only within the subgroups

...which means that miscommunication may lead to misunderstanding and poor collective performance

This friendship has an impact on the group's performance, and is therefore a team dynamic. Whether it is good or bad depends on other factors. In the first, positive, example, there is a natural force of "inclusion" which results in people being drawn into productive discussions. In the second, negative example, there is a natural force of "exclusion" which results in communication between groups being stifled.

Other factors can also play an influence. For example, if a wall of cupboards were to be placed across the middle of the office, this would also form a 'natural force'