New perspectives on team dynamics: Small Group Research, Systems Theory and the forgotten order of the situation

Abstract

This paper in the journal “Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO)” distinguishes different perspectives on team dynamics, including the neglected inherent dynamics of situations, and illustrates them with their practical implications for agile teams. The popularity of agile teams leads to an increase in team dynamics. However, previous studies either only deal with individual concepts without an integrating theoretical framework or transfer group dynamic models to teams without distinguishing between groups and teams. This paper therefore discusses different models of group and team dynamics from organizational psychology and systems theory in the context of agile teams. The central thesis of this paper is that for the analysis of team dynamics it is not sufficient to look at teams in their interactions with team members and organizations. This is because agile methods such as Scrum are characterized by iterative processes, whereby situations repeat themselves and a situational order emerges that is not identical to the social order of the team. This momentum of situations has been neglected in previous research on team dynamics. Finally, the discussed perspectives on team dynamics are brought together. This enables consultants and managers to assess the challenges and possibilities of team dynamics in a well-founded and practice-oriented way.