Dear hiring manager,
Over the past three years, Thirsty Beverage has developed, and it is evident that the team has grown from five to twenty members. I know the difficulties that initial team members face and the problems and disputes that occur within the team since I have been a member of the organization for quite an extended period. This also reflects how I collaborate with members of my group to build a productive collaboration group. Of all this, I developed a communication plan.
Team Dynamics
Thirsty Beverage Company (TBC)'s recent growth has helped my team to expand from five to twenty employees, and team members' growth has significantly changed the team's dynamics. Team members vary in their ages, and team members age ranges between 18 and 55 years old and 25-35 years old are the highest in number and 55 years of age and older have the lowest population in the organization. The team members also have a wide variety of cultures based on their race: 22% African American, 60% Caucasian, 10% Hispanic, and 8% Asian. The team consists of 60% of males and 40% of females. I think this will give our organization many opportunities and also an advantage over our rivals by effectively managing team diversities.
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Below are examples of presumed prejudices and the effect it brings on the communication between teams. Similarity-attraction phenomena that are a tendency for people with the same opinion to search for other people with the same perceptions as themselves and develop subgroups depending on surface-level changes such as age, gender, and physical ability race. These subgroups are usually less interactive with race, age, or gender. This may cause problems for team members as they will only talk to their sub-group members, and others may or may not be a part of that team ( Bauer & Erdogan, 2015) . Aging may be a problem because the age of 26-35 is the most significant number of participants, which means a majority of members of the team may believe the older people cannot cope with anxiety and perform at a lower level or not. Most of the team thought the older team members would not have to tackle more challenging tasks or circumstances. This can influence communication with the team.
Stereotypes that generalize a group of individuals based on age, gender, religion, or ethnicity may be explicitly discriminated as well. Some of the assumptions made by gender are that women are not as physical as men, whereas 30 percent of employees are women. The gender bias is beneficial to men over women ( Bauer & Erdogan, 2015) . African Americans are four times more susceptible to prejudice. In contrast, Hispanic discrimination based on ethnic perceptions appears three times more likely to happen since the united states have race-related discrimination regulations.
Besides, Different team members, like a dominant team member, may cause discomfort that may trigger other people not to share their opinions or feel that they cannot contribute to the goals of the team. This will prevent the team from effectively communicating. When I have a chance to run the company, my previous colleagues would feel that they have to question my decisions even though they agreed in advance with me as a colleague; they do not think the same thing about me as a manager. This would make it harder to interact with these people because they do not want to know what I think. Many team members are expected to do the same since the problem may remain unresolved, and the team will not work efficiently.
Personal Approach
Firstly, I would like to identify what I do better in order to change and to do more in team leadership. I would like to assess myself. Previously I was a team member when I would be given a chance to be the team manager; I would sit back and write what worked on past projects and what did not work so well in earlier projects. Also, I try to maintain my emotional influence so that I do not manipulate it or take it away to my colleagues and understand how I can react to my emotions in several situations and the leading cause of those reactions. I always seek to understand how people feel by not only reading or paying attention to their facial gestures, body language but also by consciously listening to their emotions and comments to understand as if they were thinking without verbal expression. Besides, by having a daily input from the team and by using that input to assess where I need to focus as a manager, I aspire to develop my managerial skills continuously (Portolese, 2016). As changes continue, I must set specific goals for improving skills and reviewing achievements regularly, so that we can track progress (Portolese, 2016). As soon as I take the position of manager, team priorities will be established. Team scheduling of activities, project timeline, and team responsibility should be the guiding force behind the team. I foresee holding daily team meetings to interact individually and as a group about progress and all problems in the organization.
I would also like to resolve my own bias, so that I do not pick them out in the organization by consciously trying to treat everyone fairly and take into account my feelings in any situation. Besides, I am aware of the complexity and variation of the way each team member communicates and appeals to them in terms of their desired interactions. I would like to meet individually with each team member so that I can interact effectively with the whole team and each team member. I will also easily overcome any dispute within the team by encouraging team members as much as possible to resolve conflicts or to find the underlying cause of the disagreement as a mediator (Portolese, 2016). Also, I will see what is useful and what does not work and see their thoughts during my communication with my colleagues, and I will try to be compassionate. If someone needs or has a question, then I will have an open-door policy that I will open to all team members.
When I communicate with a problematic team member, I must first know that an individual can trigger an emotional reaction and keep my reactions at heart. When I interact with a person, I do not respond emotionally. In the face of a difficult situation with a challenging team member, I would take some time to talk, and when I was no longer angry, I would discuss potential ideas and the team member's reactions to these proposals.
Collaboration Strategies
I need to honor and respect every member of my team first of all and make them feel like they are in a healthy working environment, and I have to do it with dignity and gratitude. I will surely acknowledge that and when a team member or the entire team tackles an issue in general and provides the result or advantages ( Knight, 2014). In the event of a query, problem, or discussion, I will always advise all team members to contact me. When I cannot be available to listen to the team member’s problem, I will appoint a team member who will always be ready to hear and give solutions other team members are facing. My team would also have the opportunity to set their goals and objectives and team goals, and also they will be allowed to determine what those goals will look like and if they match the company's goals.
However, when challenging teammates are involved, I will address any issues or concerns quickly and let the team know that each person should value each other, understand their differences, and not tolerate negative attitudes or behavior. I will identify the problem and report on the outcome if an employee is incapable of adhering to specific group rules, determine what discussions ought to take place and what the expected result is in scheduled meetings, consult others before, during and after a discussion, collect information and conduct examples, tell the member and the participant the specifics and details. A mutual plan of action to resolve or change actions ( Managing & Motivating Challenging Employees, 2012). I will have additional tools, including mentors, time management services, workshops, or educational opportunities. In order to ensure that the team member is on track to being a successful team member, there will be daily sessions to evaluate the members of the team to follow suit.
References
Jason S. Wrench, Narissra Punyanunt-Carter, and Mark Ward Sr. (2015). Group Communication Rules. In Organizational Communication: Theory, Research, and Practice. Boston, MA: FlatWorld. Retrieved from https://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/catalog/editions/wrenchorgcomm-organizational-communication-theory-research-and-practice-1-0/citation
Knight, R. (2014). How to Give Your Team Feedback. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–5. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=118647409&site=eds-live&scope=site
Laura Portolese. (2016). Emotional Intelligence. In Human Relations. Boston, MA: FlatWorld https://scholar.flatworldknowledge.com/books/30159/portolesediashumrel_1.0-ch02_s01/read
Managing and Motivating Challenging Employees. (2012). CPA Practice Management Forum, (Issue 9), 10. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edshol&AN=edshol.hein.journals.cpamanf8.83&site=eds-live&scope=site
Southern New Hampshire University. (n.d.) Demographic Information. Retrieved from https://learn.snhu.edu/content/enforced/267684-COM-20098-XJ022-OL-DAC-CFA.19DA09/course%20documents/Demographic%20Information.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=5065qEfALQQzqAZwQiLCM9zB2&ou=267684
Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan . (2015). Demographic Diversity. In Organizational Behavior. Boston, MA: FlatWorld. Retrieved from https://scholar.flatworldknowledge.com/books/27495/fwk-122425-ch02_s01/read
Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan. (2015). Organizational Behavior . Boston, MA: FlatWorld https://scholar.flatworldknowledge.com/books/27495/fwk-122425-ch02_s01/read
Talya Bauer, Berrin Erdogan, Jeremy Short, and Mason A. Carpenter. (2016). Developing Your Team Skills. In Principles of Management . Boston, MA: FlatWorld. Retrieved from https://scholar.flatworldknowledge.com/books/29741/fwk-127512-ch13_s05/read
