Often in business, as in daily life, there are situations where diverse teams or groups must work together to accomplish a goal. If the team contract has not included a provision for how the team will function and how conflict will be resolved, this can be a real problem. But the sooner the leader can analyze the problem and effectively apply the right conflict resolution strategy and leadership skills in the right manner, the quicker the team can accomplish the goal. The Unproductive Team Scenario: Chou’s team at work is not progressing well and he is worried. He was tasked with leading a team to create some possible new ideas to support an advertising campaign for a major beverage company’s new product launch by the end of the 2nd quarter of this year. However, his team is made up of seasoned company supervisors from various departments that seem totally unmotivated and overwhelmed in their regular work never mind this new project. The latter has resulted in arguments among the competitive team members concerning the best ideas and what should be done and how. The team seems to just be wandering from idea to idea in the meetings and he knows there is a lack of direction, but he is unsure of what he should do to generate productive ideas from this group.

How can the team be motivated and directed to accomplish the original task?

What conflict resolution strategies can be used to help resolve differences?

How can cohesiveness, and productivity be increased while reducing arguments, frustrations and team member competitiveness?