Working in a team necessarily means managing differences among individual team members, regardless of how diverse the team is. We saw in session 3 how complex the process of transforming a group of individuals into a well-functioning team can be. This, however, can only work when we take individuals' differences into consideration.
Task: Diversity factors
In the first session, "Virtual teamwork in my work environment", we discussed a case study which focussed on Thiago and his team of IT / sales people in Brazil. One of the subsequent questions referred to the level of diversity. This led to the observation that even though the whole team came from the same region and spoke the same language, there can still be a high level of diversity in the team. Can you remember some of the variables we mentioned there? Try to remember three diversity factors we have already discussed here – without looking them up – and write them down in your learning journal.
Having completed this task, click here to view some diversity factors mentioned by other participants.
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1. A difference of goals
Even though Thiago's entire team had the obvious common goal of developing a new customer management software, some people within the team might have the goal to make it work with as little latency and hardware requirements as possible, whereas others in the team might focus on having the new system out as soon as possible, and iron the little bugs in the system afterward. To ensure that the team works well, it is important to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to setting the goals and milestones for the project.
2. Personal priorities
There can also be differences in personal priorities: some people in the team might view this project as an important milestone for their career, and are willing to spend many overtime hours on it. Others on the other hand might not be as motivated by it, and see their work-life-balance as far more important, for example when they have children at home to take care of, or see their job solely as a means to pay the bills. When these differences are not discussed, it can lead to frustration when some are doing more for the project's success, while others might have other priorities.
3. Knowledge and skills
In addition to the points mentioned in session 1, the team leader will also need to consider whether the team members have the individual skills or the knowledge to get the job done. What skills and know-how did the team members start with, and what do they individually need to get their jobs done? It is important here to devise individual learning and development plans to ensure those are in place.
All of these factors need to be considered when working within a team, and the respective managers would be well advised to address these issues either in periodical face-to-face discussions, team meetings, or anonymous team surveys.
For this session, however, we will focus on a different, but crucial dimension of individual diversity: the individual (informal) roles of the team members. While some of us are great at coming up with ideas, others might be good organisers. In this context, we will discuss the possible strengths and weaknesses of the individual team members and how to deal with these.
Download: Learning journal for session 4
Last modified: Sunday, 22 June 2025, 11:45 PM