Think of a time when you felt like a minority in a work group or team. What did it feel like to be a member of that work group or team? How do you feel you were treated? What were the advantages? What were the disadvantages? Were you able to contribute to your fullest potential? Why or why not?

Observe a diverse team at a meeting. What are the different kinds of diversity represented on the team? What are some of the advantages this team may have (if managed well)? What are some of the dysfunctional dynamics that may occur (if not managed well)? What dynamics, both positive and negative, do you see? If you were a consultant to this group, what advice would you give team members to enhance team performance?

Answer the questions in Box 8-1, “Assess Team Members' Style Preferences.” Then, work with at least one other person and compare your answers. In what ways are you similar? In what ways are you different? If you were part of a work team, how might these similarities and differences influence your team process and performance?

Attend a meeting (even a class) and pay attention to the social cues during the meeting. Describe the static, dynamic, and situational cues. How does each of the cues that you describe enhance understanding? How might each of the cues lead to misunderstandings?

Imagine you were the team leader of the following virtual team. What are the key problems? What steps would you take to improve the team's process and performance? What steps could you take with future virtual teams to prevent these dynamics from happening in the first place?

Communications were often fragmented, with gaps and misunderstanding among distant group members. There was confusion in telephone conferences, with people on different pages of documents. Group members failed to return telephone calls or respond to inquiries from distant members. Key group members at remote sites were left off e-mail distribution lists. Distant members were not informed of key decisions or information. Misunderstandings developed on the basis of different assumptions about the tasks and assignments. Messages were interpreted differently in different places, sometimes fueling ongoing conflicts among office sites.^[122]

Imagine you are the team leader of the global, distributed team described at the beginning of this chapter. Describe how you would develop cohesiveness and enable coordination in this team. What problems might you anticipate, and how would you deal with them?