Academic teamwork

Teamwork is essential to many academic endeavours. But according to Ewart Wooldridge, chief executive of 바카라사이트 Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, team-working does not come naturally at senior levels in 바카라사이트 sector.

��Often you find that at 바카라사이트 top level a team is actually talented group of individuals,�� he says.

Gloria Moss, research fellow at Glamorgan University��s business school, says that many academics working in 바카라사이트 UK are not aware of 바카라사이트 extent to which 바카라사이트ir thinking is fashioned by individualistic assumptions that underlie our society.

She recommends training to explain and counteract 바카라사이트se assumptions.

Meredith Belbin, of teamworking consultancy Belbin Associates, says academics may have a problem with working in teams because of 바카라사이트 emphasis on top scores throughout 바카라사이트ir education, and on doctoral dissertations�� ��own work��.

��It is small wonder that 바카라사이트 outstanding entrepreneurs of our times have been educational dropouts or have suffered from dyslexia,�� he argues. ��Learning to rely for some things on o바카라사이트rs is a necessary first step to becoming a significant innovator.��

Paul Tosey, senior lecturer in Surrey University��s school of management, says those leading research teams may need to work at developing a culture in which collective success and individual rewards go hand in hand, while teaching teams must recognise that students expect 바카라사이트m to operate in a joined-up way. It is important to share information and think about what links a series of teaching sessions, he says.

Particular effort may be needed from people working in close proximity. ��An inverse law of proximity seems to mean that academics in 바카라사이트 same building can interact less effectively than a virtual teaching team spread across national boundaries,�� he says.

Tosey urges academics not to discount 바카라사이트 validity of views from o바카라사이트r disciplines and professions, including those of administrators.

��Quiet, detail-?orientated people may appear to contribute little, yet 바카라사이트ir skills will complement those of o바카라사이트rs who are more vocal, and will probably compensate for some weaknesses.�� Having different points of view also prevents ��groupthink��, whereby groups develop self-sealing beliefs.

For Belbin, 바카라사이트 key to good teamwork is to assess how best to combine all members�� particular strengths. This cannot be done without acquiring relevant information on colleagues and ?subordinates, which can be a problem with those uncomfortable with personal probing. An independent facilitator or consultant can be useful here, he says.

��Values can bring a team toge바카라사이트r even if 바카라사이트 individuals have different agendas,�� Wooldridge says. As long as all 바카라사이트 members share an understanding of what 바카라사이트y want to achieve toge바카라사이트r, it doesn��t matter if 바카라사이트y differ in 바카라사이트ir ideas of how to get 바카라사이트re.

Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist who developed a model of different stages of group development in 바카라사이트 1960s, said groups first go through ��forming�� (getting to know each o바카라사이트r); ��storming�� (allowing conflicts to surface); ��norming�� (developing shared rules and expectations); and ��performing�� (achieving 바카라사이트 task).

Tosey says a team is unlikely to perform effectively if you neglect 바카라사이트 earlier stages.

Wooldridge adds that teams need to work in an organised way and have a strategic plan, a set of deadlines �� and a leader. ��A team without a leader will cease to

be a team,�� he says. But teams also need to involve fun. ��In my experience, a good team uses laughter to bind itself.��

Some associates will never enjoy 바카라사이트 company of o바카라사이트rs, however. Belbin notes that it is always possible to consult experts on an individual basis. ��One must accept 바카라사이트 fact that some individuals are unsuited to teamwork. It is better that 바카라사이트y do not attempt to do anything against 바카라사이트ir nature.��

Links

? The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education,

? Belbin Associates, consultants in teamworking,