Teams: How to Manage Team Dynamics [VIDEO]

Have you ever hosted an event that did not go according to plan? I once was hosting an event for students when, suddenly, a few teenagers collided into a large wooden sign that hit a piece of glass, completely shattering it. After I made sure that everyone was ok and cleaned up the glass, I knew I needed to call my boss immediately. I did not want him to be surprised and find out about the incident from someone other than me. To have an effective team, there are five things that leaders need from their team (one of which is no surprises) and also five things that team members need from their leaders.

Team members, your leader needs you to:

1. Practice the “no surprise” rule

2. Show initiative

3. earn their style, values, and triggers

4. Lead with, “Yes.”

5. Let your loyalty show

Leaders, your team needs you to:

1. Provide clear expectations

2. Give regular feedback

3. Lead by example

4. Spend time with them

5. Recognize effort and excellence

Each of these points revolves around relationships because relationships are the glue that holds a team together. And when managing the different relationships on your team, there are three key aspects all members need to understand about each other in order for the team to function at a high-performing and healthy level.  These are personality, motivation, and emotional intelligence.

1. Personality

Have you noticed that some of your teammates are driven by different things? Some are extroverted; some are introverted. Some are more task-oriented; some are relationship-oriented. Some love policies and procedures; others love to think outside of the box and be creative. Some run towards problems and want to take them head-on; others need to pause and reflect about their problems. All of these traits are tied to how God created them and their personality. And the better you understand a team member’s personality and they understand yours, the more it will increase communication, cut down on conflict, and help you to have an effective team.

2. Motivation

Your personality is not just behaviors, it's also motivation. What drives you? You and each of your teammates are driven by different things. Some love to learn and will gladly do research. Others like to learn for specific reasons. Others are driven to leave a legacy, while others want to just serve with no expectation in return. All of these are internal motivations, and if we understand them, we can better help our teammates to lean into how they are wired to accomplish tasks and problems that the team needs to solve. That’s the power of understanding motivations.

3. Emotional Intelligence

The third piece is emotional intelligence. How well do you know your own emotions, and how do you manage those? Then, how do you not let them affect your decisions? How well do you know the emotions of others? Can you read a room? Can you understand what people are feeling and communicate so they can hear you and accept what you are saying while making sure the words or emotions do not get in the way of your communication? That's the power of emotional intelligence. It is an internal journey every leader and every team member needs to take.

When teams invest in getting to know each other more relationally by understanding each member’s personality, motivation, and journey of emotional intelligence, it increases the effectiveness of the whole team.

 So, how are you going to invest in your team?

Contact us to learn about our team training session that will improve collaboration, communication, and performance among your team members!

Dave Winner has a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with a major in Human Resource Development from Regent University and an M.Div. from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to his work at The Center, he is an adjunct professor with The Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity and Regent University’s School of Business and Leadership. He is a former pastor with 20 years served in three churches in Pennsylvania. Dave brings experience in organizational culture, leadership development and coaching, personality assessments, adult learning, and ministry assessment.