Introduction

Team development is about the team moving from a current state (what the team is currently: its outputs; its culture; its ways of working) into a new state. This course, Difference, and challenge in teams look at how teams ‘travel’ on that journey of development, how they get to the new, better, state. The course encourages you to recognize the challenge of individuals within the team pulling in different directions – and to identify where such challenges can be embraced. The course opens with a metaphor drawn from nature – something to bear in mind as you think about your own team issues. There follow three mini case studies – interspersed with reflective activities – which consider different situations faced by managers who want to build better teams. The course ends with a couple of more extensive readings on the use of 'dialectical approaches' – tools for harnessing ‘creative conflict’.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• Recognize and value ‘challenge’ in teams
• Understand how to harness creative tensions for the good of the team
• Recognize team interactions that nurture trust and strengthen a team’s capacity to support itself and innovate.