Understanding Team Dynamics in Organisations - · PDF file ·...
Transcript of Understanding Team Dynamics in Organisations - · PDF file ·...
Understanding Team Dynamics in Organisations
A systems/psychodynamic perspective Sandy Bryson Organisational Consultant
Sources of anxiety for teams and individuals within them Anxiety can be generated from; • the task/service user • the structure of the organisation • the team culture
• the wider environment
Anxiety generated from the primary task/s There are usually vast differences between: • What an organisation thinks it is doing • What it wants to do • What it is actually doing • What other organisations think it is doing
Anxiety generated from the service user. The Impact of ‘transference’ and ‘counter-transference’ in care services
What is the most challenging aspect of your contact with service users? What might be the challenges for others in the
team?
Anxiety generated from the service user. The Impact of ‘transference’ and ‘counter-transference’ in care services
Unmanageable levels of anxiety result in either
• Psychological withdrawal/desire to get rid of the problem
• Over-involvement with the service user • Emergence of anti-task phenomena in the team
Anxiety generated from the structure of the system
Unhealthy teams have: • Poorly defined roles for members, which are
inappropriate to their level of skill, or lack authority • An incapacity to manage the boundaries between
tasks, and/or groups • A poorly functioning structure for containment of
difficult/challenging service users
Anxiety generated from the team/service culture
• Team cultures are developed over time – “its the way we do things round here”
• Cultures which have been helpful in the past may no longer be appropriate as the team/organisation develops.
• A Team Culture can be difficult to challenge as it is rarely stated overtly
Anxiety from the wider environment. • Rapidly changing relationship to work • Increasing complexity of the task: • Changes in commissioning, increased
competition and uncertainty. • Disintegration of established workgroups
Difficult team dynamics arise in teams which have one or more of the following: • Unclear or conflicting tasks • Difficult/painful tasks to perform which give rise to
intolerable anxiety in workers • Organisational structure/culture which does not
support the task • Uncertainty in the wider environment ( funding etc)
giving rise to insecurity And • A Lack of effective leadership which can manage
difference and contain anxiety
Maintaining healthy teams: requirements of leadership
• Ability to help staff manage boundaries, both of role and the service user/worker interface
• To manage difference, ensuring all voices are heard. • To continually appraise the organisational/team
structure, ensuring it is fit for purpose • To create a culture of containment, where workers
concerns can be heard and if necessary, acted upon • To articulate and be clear on the organisation’s
primary task.