What Makes a Team Click?
SOC110
May 14, 2014

What Makes a Team Click? *
Teams assemble with the interest of obtaining a particular goal. Whatever that goal may be, there are motives as to why we choose to join a team. To stay in a team and also choose to leave the team. As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggest, there are motivating factors that move members to work together in groups, and they categorize into two groups. Satisfiers' and Motivators. The authors, Engelberg & Wynn, state that satisfiers' have the most basic needs like physiological and safety needs. Motivators are higher-level needs such as self- actualization, belongingness, and esteem needs (2011). For members with belongingness needs, a group provides a sense of belonging, by providing friendship opportunities and members find that they identify with others. Groups can also satisfy members with esteem needs, these needs are met through success and member satisfaction. Working in groups gives these members a sense of worthiness and that their contribution matters. Therefore, member motivation is necessary to fuel group performance and achieve successful collaboration.
On the other hand, sometimes motives can also have a negative effect on collaboration. When individual motives such as esteem, belongingness, and self-actualization needs are not met they eventually create affective conflict. Within our group, it seems that these motives aren’t existent. Being that were so new to becoming a team together, there is not enough time spent with each other and were morally established, making us a great team. According to Engelberg and Wynn (2011), “Affective conflict is the result of interpersonal disagreements, differences in personalities and communication styles and members’ core values and beliefs” (p.212). Our team doesn’t have much disagreements. Differences in personalities, we very