Lesson 4: Resolution of Team Divergence

Types of Conflict (continued)

Task. Different viewpoints and approaches to solving the project may provide a source of conflict among the team. Team members need to understand how each group on the team would approach and seek to solve the task. For example, on a recent GV team one group preferred to pick a single solution to an engineering problem and proceed to prototyping. If problems with the prototype arose, they simply dealt with those problems as the deadline approached. The other group on the team explored several viable options and tested individual components of each option before determining the best solution before moving to a prototype. Since the two groups on the GV team were separated by considerable distance, little time was taken by either group to understand how their counterparts engineered a solution. The end result was a fragmented team that worked in parallel on the same project. The end product was not as successful as it could have or should have been. In cases such as these it is vital that team members are explicit about how they proceed with a task so everyone understands and is in agreement.

On GV teams there is little difference in task and relationship conflict between members of a GV team and members of their virtual team. However, virtual teams tend to have greater levels of process conflict than traditional teams. It is more difficult to manage the complexity of communicating and following up on tasks. Team leaders need to establish ways of determining what team members are working on and how this will affect the overall team performance. Tasks and assignments must be clear, specific and attempt to overcome any differences. For example, on a United States/British team, one member used the phrase "quite skilled" in reference to another team member's ability. The United States member understood this to mean that the team member had a great deal of skill. The British team member thought that the quite referred to minimal skill to complete the task. Imagine how one word had the potential of misunderstanding and conflict from two team members with a similar language and cultural ties. Even greater effort is needed with vastly different cultures and languages. Attending to process becomes a key to achieving success.