Team Dynamics & Group Development Flashcards

A team coach is working with a high-performing team that has become overly insular and rejects all external input. Which risk does this MOST represent?

Answer: Insularity and groupthink

When a cohesive team rejects outside perspectives and becomes self-referential, it is exhibiting insularity often combined with groupthink tendencies.

According to Drexler/Sibbet Team Performance Model, which question must a team answer FIRST to move through the model?

Answer: Who are you?

The first stage of the Drexler/Sibbet model is Orientation, anchored by the question 'Who are you?' as team members establish identity and belonging.

A team coach uses Wilfred Bion's work to explain why a team keeps seeking a savior leader rather than doing their own work. Which Bion concept applies?

Answer: Dependency basic assumption

Bion's 'Dependency' basic assumption describes a group that behaves as if it exists to be protected and sustained by an omnipotent leader.

A team has clear goals and trusts each other but consistently underperforms because members don't leverage each other's strengths. Which team coaching focus is MOST needed?

Answer: Clarifying roles and interdependencies

When trust and goals are in place but performance lags, clarifying how roles interconnect and how strengths complement each other is the key lever.

In team development, 'norming' is BEST characterized by which behavior?

Answer: Members establish rules, resolve conflict, and develop cohesion

Norming involves the emergence of group cohesion, agreed-upon norms, and resolution of earlier conflicts from the Storming stage.

A team coach is asked to facilitate a session on the team's 'shadow side.' What does this term MOST refer to?

Answer: Unofficial networks, unspoken rules, and hidden agendas that influence team behavior

The 'shadow side' of a team refers to the informal, covert dynamics — unspoken norms, hidden agendas, and unofficial power structures — that shape behavior beneath the surface.

Which team coaching stance BEST supports a team moving through Tuckman's Storming stage productively?

Answer: Holding space for conflict while helping the team develop productive dialogue norms

Effective coaching during Storming means tolerating and working with conflict rather than suppressing it, while building the team's capacity to handle disagreement constructively.