PPL 2020 — Document Builder: Team Dynamic Hacks for Building a Productive Team

One of the things that all students who have taken or are taking the PPL course learn is teamwork. We huddle up together for one semester and work through the months on the same goal: finish the project, pass the course, and (hopefully) attain good marks. This experience of teamwork is actually very beneficial and prepares us for the real deal once we’re working in the industry. Through this experience, we learn how to work with people who have different personalities, skillsets, and experiences.

People on the same team don’t always follow the same clock. Some people are more productive in the morning so they work in the mornings. Some others are more productive during the night so they work mostly on nights. Each team member also has different personalities and different approach on how to resolve problems. But how do we synchronize to be able to reach our collective goal of finishing the project well?

Here comes the concept: Team Dynamics. This is actually a concept that I’ve just learned not too long ago.

What is Team Dynamics?

According to Team Technology, team dynamics are the unconscious, psychological forces that influence the direction of a team’s behavior and performance. It is created by the nature of team behavior, the personalities within the team, and the environment in which the team works.

In my understanding, team dynamics is the personality of the team. It’s there when we say “That team works well because the members trust and care about each other” or when we say, “I think our communication strategy needs improving, I don’t think our team understands each other enough”.

Team dynamics can be good and can be bad. Good team dynamics can lead to a productive and successful team while bad team dynamics can lead to unproductive conflicts and toxic behavior.

In this post, I will try to explain what I think are the hacks to good team dynamics to build a productive team and how it is implemented in our team.

Characteristics of Good Team Dynamics

Good team dynamics can lead to productivity and increases the mental health of each of the team members. A team with good dynamics provides a comfortable space for the members to work. No one should feel ashamed or afraid of doing any mistakes and everybody should feel taken care of in the team. Below are some characteristic points of good team dynamics:

1. Shared Purpose

It is crucial that each member of a team be reminded that when they work together, they are achieving a shared purpose or goal. Their work and effort will not only affect themselves but will also have an impact on the rest of the team. This can help each team member to consider the work of others and how they can help and contribute more to the work of others.

2. Trust and Openness

To be able to work comfortably and well, team members should be able to trust each other and also to be open to each other about their feelings and struggles. It is very important that every team member does not feel afraid to voice out their opinion and ask for help when they need it. It’s also crucial for each team member to be able to trust that other team members will carry out their tasks and do the job well.

3. Interdependence and Sense of Belonging

If you’ve ever been in any team, whether it is a group for a school project, a team in a company, or simply involved in a peer group, you should know how good it is to feel that you belong in that team. A sense of belonging is an important aspect and is one of the characteristics of good team dynamics. If you feel that you belong in that team, communicating your feelings and voicing out opinions will become much easier and you will feel a lot more comfortable working in the team.

Does Our Team Have Good Team Dynamics?

Can you spot Firman?

I’m proud to say that in the two sprints that we work together, our team has achieved moderate success. We’ve worked to complete all tasks and product backlog items with none of them rejected so far. I would like to appreciate the productiveness of our team and analyze the team dynamics related to this success:

• We maintain good communication on one platform: Telegram
• We update each other when MRs are created, providing enough visibility and transparency, push each other for more productivity. It is proven by our team that pushing other people to review our code will also push them to get on writing code themselves :)

• We entertain each other and talk about things outside of the project

• Doing this frequent communication keeps us updated with each other and also build our team closeness. Each of us always opens the group chat on a daily basis.
• We believe in “Nothing in this team is somebody else’s problem”

That time when Aab took the initiative to resolve test warnings made by others :)

Of course, we were very grateful for what he did

We realized that communication is key to building a good team with good team dynamics and pushing each individual to perform their best. So as the unofficial “Hustler” of the team. I’ve collected a list of hacks/actionable items that may be beneficial for others to build good team dynamics for a more productive team.

Actionable Items on Building Good Team Dynamics

1. Maintain continuous communication. Pick one platform that is most suitable to cater to your team’s communication needs, especially in this ‘all-remote’ situation. This can be Slack, Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp, or Telegram.
2. Conduct Team Building. This can be a simple meal together or doing recreational activities together. During this pandemic, one of the activities that can be done in the team is playing online games together. This kind of activity can help in getting team members to get to know each other and help nurture the sense of belonging in each of the team members.
3. Conduct Sharing Sessions. This can be a session where each of the member shares their newly acquired knowledge or experience which can be beneficial for other team members. Another way to use this session is to share personal problems or struggles that may impact them in their work. This keeps each of the members in check and helps to build trust and openness in the team.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think our team has done well in terms of working together and building and nurturing good team dynamics. I hope the experience of our team can be beneficial for others. Feedback on this writing is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading, I hope it was useful!