Leadership Toolkit

Strategies and approaches for skill development in the classroom

The following section offers some strategies and approaches for skill development in the classroom.  Much of the material on teamwork is covered in the Teamwork Toolkit.  However, the emphasis here is on leadership through teamwork, because leadership can't happen in a vacuum. 

1. Leader's role in a team context: Position Description
2. Leader's role in the four stages of team formation
3. Implications of the four stages of team formation
4. Identifying team roles
5. Conducting team meetings
6. Checklist for students to help them conduct effective meetings
7. Identifying and managing conflict in a team
8. Understanding team dynamics

Identifying and managing conflict in a team

Sometimes, disagreement or conflict within teams can't be avoided.  However, it can be minimised by giving students guidelines like those provided above, and by setting ground rules and procedures to enable disagreements to be dealt with calmly.   The most common causes of conflict within teams result from members:

• constantly missing meetings;
• not being prepared;
• not responding to e-mails or messages; and
• using disrespectful or unacceptable language.

When preparing the class to undertake teamwork, ensure that ground rules are developed and agreed upon by the entire team.  It is often useful to provide the team members with guidelines on how to deal with, and work, through conflict.  This promotes a 'whole group' understanding that dissent is often a part of teamwork; that there is nothing shameful about that as long as it is respectful; and that processes exist to incorporate dissenting opinions and behaviour.  A plan of action for dealing with inappropriate behaviour may include asking students to analyse (as a group) what factors might lie behind the conflict, and to identify whether it:

• hinders the team process;
• hinders the team achieving its desired outcome;
• hinders the team members working together;
• needs to be discussed with the person or persons involved; or
• can be turned around to reach a win-win situation for everybody.

 

Adapted from: Teaching and Learning with Technology: Building Blocks for Teams, Student Tips.
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 30 October, 2006:
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/teams/student/responsibility.html

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