Team Dynamics

Audience

Whole Team

by Diana Larsen

We steadily improve our ability to work together.

Your team’s ability to work together forms the bedrock of its ability to develop and deliver software. You need collaboration skills, the ability to share leadership roles, and an understanding of how teams evolve over time. Together, these skills determine your team dynamics.

Team dynamics are the invisible undercurrents that determine your team’s culture. They’re the way people interact and cooperate. Healthy team dynamics lead to a culture of achievement and well-being. Unhealthy team dynamics lead to a culture of disappointment and dysfunction.

Anyone on the team can have a role in influencing these dynamics. Use the ideas in this practice to suggest ways to improve team members' capability to work together.

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In this Section

1. Team Dynamics
   1. What Makes a Team?
   2. Team Development
      1. Forming: The new kid in class
      2. Storming: Group adolescence
      3. Norming: We’re #1
      4. Performing: Team synergy
      5. Adjourning: Separating and moving on
   3. Communication, Collaboration, and Interaction
      1. Start with a strong base of trust
      2. Support your growing trust with three-fold commitment
      3. Right-size conflicts with feedback
      4. Spark creativity and innovation
      5. Sustain high performance
   4. Shared Leadership
   5. Toxic Behavior
   6. Questions
   7. Prerequisites
   8. Indicators
   9. Alternatives and Experiments
   10. Further Reading