Assignment task:
In Chapter 3 of our textbook, a number of barriers to effective teamwork are discussed. Here are just a few of them.
- Lack of 2-D Diversity: Diversity consists of two major dimensions-inherent diversity (such as race, gender, or disability status) and acquired diversity (such as customer service skills, engineering expertise, and so on). Teams without 2-D diversity often struggle to solve problems or think innovatively.
- Groupthink: Groupthink is a type of unproductive conformity in which team members rush to a conclusion without carefully considering other options.
- Self-Censorship: Self-censorship occurs when people are afraid to speak up for fear of giving offense to others.
- Illusion of Unanimity: This happens when everyone just assumes without checking that others agree with the point being made.
- Cascading: Studies have shown that the first idea presented in any team discussion is the one that tends to be agreed upon, irrespective of whether that idea is any good. When the initial idea excessively influences the final decision, that is known as cascading.
For your initial post, discuss an experience when you faced one of the challenges listed above when working in a team setting. Ideally, this should be a workplace example, but an experience from a school project is also acceptable. In your follow-up posts to your fellow students, build thoughtfully upon their ideas to deepen the conversation.