Small Teams Grow
Successful small teams often face the challenges of accepting new members and dealing with all of the dynamics of a growing family. The team may find itself mired in its own dynamics and resist influences from forces outside the group. There may even be a sense of the group forming a strong “us versus them” view of the world. All of these dynamics can make the team very difficult to manage. However, just as nuclear families learn to adapt to the addition of new members, small teams usually gradually adjust to changes as well.
Conclusion
The successful manager will employ savvy people skills to assess the team's dynamics. Using the analogy of a family that I have described here may provide helpful insight as you need to assess your own team's strengths and weaknesses. The next step is to consider approach tactics and then evaluate what works and what doesn't. Since “people” issues come with the turf whether your team is large or small, insight into these dynamics will certainly empower you regardless of the managerial challenge you face.
References
[1] Aiello, Robert and Leslie Sachs. Configuration Management Best Practices: Practical Methods that Work in the Real World. Addison-Wesley, 2010, p. 155.
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About the author
Leslie Sachs is a New York state certified school psychologist and the COO of Yellow Spider, Inc. (http://yellowspiderinc.com). Leslie is the coauthor of Configuration Management Best Practices: Practical Methods that Work in the Real World, Addison-Wesley Professional (http://cmbestpractices.com). Ms. Sachs has more than twenty years of experience in the psychology field and has worked in a variety of clinical and business settings where she has provided many effective interventions designed to improve the social and educational functioning of both individuals and groups. Ms. Sachs has an M.S. in School Psychology from Pace University and interned in Bellevue's Psychiatric Center in New York city. A firm believer in the uniqueness of every individual, she has recently done advanced training with Mel Levine's "All Kinds of Minds" Institute. She may be reached at LeslieASachs@gmail.com, or link with her http://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliesachs.
