Does being virtual affect group dynamics in professional settings?
I understand group dynamics to be the ways in which groups function as individuals within a team but also how they function as a team in terms of cohesion. Their interactions, relationships, decisions, and roles all play into group dynamics. The rise of virtual teams has shifted group dynamics yet the core of how individuals work together in teams still remains the same. Virtual teams put a greater strain on relationship building and shared experiences due to the lack of time spent working side by side with your team compared to in person groups, this makes building trust and bonds within teams take longer. However, group dynamics remain the same in terms of roles and decision making as well as the clash of different personalities that can be seen during the storming phase of team development. Virtual teams will have to put more effort into building group cohesion and relationships than in person teams would have to simply due to the less personal approach that virtuality takes to group dynamics.
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The stages of team development occur within any group virtual or in person. However, certain aspects such as conflict may be harder to notice in virtual teams due to less time spent together. Body language and subtle interaction that could be perceived as conflict within a storming phase through in person teams may go unnoticed. This combined with the added difficulty of building relationships and getting to know your team members make it difficult to build relationships that allow for the phases of team development to be noticed and shared as a team. The stages of team development can still occur virtually but typically will take longer to unfold and go through the process. The stages of team development are important to help establish roles, build relationships and unlock the full potential of a cohesive team. Without the going through storming and norming phases roles and responsibilities may be unclear and productivity will not be optimal due to the lack of understanding the potential of group members and clearly defining responsibilities.
Some things will translate very easily from in person groups to virtual groups. One example being planning and goal setting, this can be done very easily through virtual meetings and through shared documents. Another example being any tech aspect to the group work. Moving virtually puts a larger emphasis on being engaged through technology this will also enable anything tech related for the group to transition equally as well if not better when moving to virtual groupwork. However some aspects about group work will be harder to manage virtually one example mentioned earlier being relationship/group building. Due to the lack of in person time spent in a group this aspect will be much harder to build virtually. Another aspect that is generally easier in person is conflict resolution, this pairs with easier communication that you experience in person but the lack of body language in virtual teams can make solving conflicts and effectively communicating to avoid them very hard through virtual groups.
Through past group activities I have learned a few things that I try to carry with me into every group setting I approach. One is conduct, treating everyone and their ideas with respect goes a long way in a group. Generally in group environments it is normal for at least one person to feel isolated or hesitant and encouraging and advocating for that person to be heard levels the group and contributes to morale and a feeling of cohesion. Another thing I have taken away from group activities is to establish guidelines and responsibilities early and reevaluate them regularly. Giving everyone a task and understanding the groups shared goal and how their tasks contribute to that early on leads to more effective teams where people don’t feel overworked or left out, these should be reevaluated regularly to ensure that while things change in the groups goals people’s roles change with them in a fair way. Some things to avoid in group activities include isolating a team member, delegating tasks unequally, and poor communication. Some things you should try to do in group setting should be: Communicate effectively, build cohesion within the group, delegate tasks equally, respect other opinions and ideas, and work as a collective.
