Understanding Team Dynamics in Organisations

A systems/psychodynamic perspective Sandy Bryson Organisational Consultant

Blah Blah blah…(Dependency)

“It would be OK if we just got rid of him!” (Fight/Flight)

One day it will be better! (Pairing)

No differences here! (Oneness)

Team? What team?...(Me-ness)

Sources of anxiety for teams and individuals within them Anxiety can be generated from; • the task/service user • the structure of the organisation • the team culture

• the wider environment

Anxiety generated from the primary task/s There are usually vast differences between: • What an organisation thinks it is doing • What it wants to do • What it is actually doing • What other organisations think it is doing

Anxiety generated from the service user. The Impact of ‘transference’ and ‘counter-transference’ in care services

What is the most challenging aspect of your contact with service users? What might be the challenges for others in the

team?

Anxiety generated from the service user. The Impact of ‘transference’ and ‘counter-transference’ in care services

Unmanageable levels of anxiety result in either

• Psychological withdrawal/desire to get rid of the problem

• Over-involvement with the service user • Emergence of anti-task phenomena in the team

Anxiety generated from the structure of the system

Unhealthy teams have: • Poorly defined roles for members, which are

inappropriate to their level of skill, or lack authority • An incapacity to manage the boundaries between

tasks, and/or groups • A poorly functioning structure for containment of

difficult/challenging service users

Anxiety generated from the team/service culture

• Team cultures are developed over time – “its the way we do things round here”

• Cultures which have been helpful in the past may no longer be appropriate as the team/organisation develops.

• A Team Culture can be difficult to challenge as it is rarely stated overtly

Anxiety from the wider environment. • Rapidly changing relationship to work • Increasing complexity of the task: • Changes in commissioning, increased

competition and uncertainty. • Disintegration of established workgroups

Difficult team dynamics arise in teams which have one or more of the following: • Unclear or conflicting tasks • Difficult/painful tasks to perform which give rise to

intolerable anxiety in workers • Organisational structure/culture which does not

support the task • Uncertainty in the wider environment ( funding etc)

giving rise to insecurity And • A Lack of effective leadership which can manage

difference and contain anxiety

Maintaining healthy teams: requirements of leadership

• Ability to help staff manage boundaries, both of role and the service user/worker interface

• To manage difference, ensuring all voices are heard. • To continually appraise the organisational/team

structure, ensuring it is fit for purpose • To create a culture of containment, where workers

concerns can be heard and if necessary, acted upon • To articulate and be clear on the organisation’s

primary task.

Further Reading

• Gould, L, Stapely, L and Stein, M (eds.) (2001) The Systems Psychodynamics of Organisations (Karnac)

• HUFFINGTON C. et al. eds. Working Below the Surface. London: Karnac Books 2004