Introduction to Teamwork

The topic of teamwork is vast and can be covered from so many angles. The topic of interculturally competent teamwork cannot be approached without an understanding of culture, or the elements of language, educational and experiential backgrounds, age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and nationality, religious and non-religious beliefs, political ideologies, and customs of groups of people. Interculturally competent teamwork is relevant to both international business environments, in which time zones, different levels of language ability in a common language, and different communication expectations need to be navigated. Interculturally competent teamwork is also relevant in businesses that operate in a single country with a diverse workforce, as is increasingly becoming the case as the world becomes more interconnected.

Note: Within this topic you’re asked to share about your individual preferences about teamwork, along with your perceptions around the expectations about teamwork within a culture to which you belong. Please be respectful when discussing culturally-tied expectations around teamwork and the stereotypes associated with those expectations. Please also be aware that when sharing specific examples, these may be shocking and cause harm in repeating any discriminatory statements you’ve heard. Please keep the intersectionality comprising each of our identities in mind when discussing culture.

Warmup Activities: Our Perceptions of and Preferences for Teamwork

As a warmup for our activities on the topic of interculturally competent teamwork, please reflect upon your perceptions of and experiences working in teams - in professional, educational, and/or personal settings. Here are some discussion prompts to get you thinking about your experiences.

Do’s and Don’t’s of Teamwork

Share one positive experience you’ve had working in a team. Describe the team, its size, the setting, the most-used communication mode (in-person? online?) and frequency of communication, and the project the team was tasked with. What characteristics of the team do you feel made it an enjoyable experience? What did the team accomplish together that you are most proud of?
Share one negative experience you’ve had working in a team. Describe the team, its size, the setting, the most-used communication mode (in-person? online?) and frequency of communication, and the project the team was tasked with. What characteristics of the team do you feel made it a negative experience? Were there things that the team was unable to accomplish? If yes, what were they and why do you think the team was unable to meet their goals?

As you narrate your experiences, we’ll generalize your experiences into the personalized guidelines we have for working in a team by listing the do’s and don’t’s we took away from the stories of your experiences.

Do’s and Don’t’s of Teamwork

Narrator	Contributor	Do’s
Alaina	Alaina	Have clearly defined roles for each team member

Narrator	Contributor	Don’t’s
Alaina	Alaina	Don’t try to motivate people by comparing their performance to their peer’s performance.

Culturally-Tied Expectations about Teamwork

Next, we’ll discuss culturally-tied expectations about Teamwork. Here, please contribute your perspective about an expectation for teamwork from a culture to which you belong or are familiar with. Let us know the culture the expectations comes from. Describe the perceived expectation itself. Then give some advice for navigating the expectation.

Contributor	Culture	Perceived Expectation	Navigating the Expectation
Alaina	White European American	A leader is the person who speaks the most.	To be promoted within White European American spaces, introverts will need to learn to speak up a lot.

Teamwork from a U.S. Perspective

Now, let’s explore some resources that should help you navigate teamwork in diverse international teams. Please note that the recommendations here are based upon an American (from the United States) perspective.

Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter

Start the lesson by watching the video “Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter,” in which Katherine Phillips, Reuben Mark Professor of Organizational Character at Colombia Business School, shares advice about working in diverse and international teams. A transcript of this talk has been included below.

Watch the video: Why Diverse Teams are Smarter via Columbia Business School

View the transcript: Phillips_WhyDiverseTeamsAreSmarter_Transcript.pdf

Knowledge Check: Diverse Teams Are Smarter

After watching the video, check your understanding by taking this quiz.

1) According to Katherine Phillips, what is groupthink? Select the correct answer.

Type of bias in which people are less likely to question the possible different perspectives when in an environment in which everyone has the same surface-level identity characteristics (race, gender)
Type of consensus that is easily reached when people share the same surface-level identity characteristics (race, gender)

2) According to Katherine Phillips, what happens to a person who works in a group in which most people share the same surface-level identity characteristics (race, gender) when the person has unique information? Select all that apply.

The person is less likely to bring up the idea confidently, if they bring the idea up at all.
The group is more likely to be dismissive of the idea.
The environment feels more hostile to the person than a diverse one.

3) According to Katherine Phillips, what are the benefits of working in a team in which diverse surface-level identity characteristics (race, gender) are represented? Select all that apply.

Legitimization of the presence of different perspectives
Enhanced pre-meeting preparation, information sharing, and complex problem solving
Greater creativity
Greater effort
Teams that are diverse according to surface-level identity characteristics (race, gender) work harder.

4) According to Katherine Phillips, what practical strategies can we adopt to mitigate bias when working in diverse teams? Select all that apply.

Focus on problem solving, rather than debating opinions.
Make sure that everyone is given approximately equal airtime. Don’t let some groups dominate the discussion over others.
Have those who have the surface-level identity characteristics of people who are typically lower status in social hierarchies speak first.
Adopt a no-interruption rule.
Adopt a unanimous rule policy for decision making, since homogenous majorities have no incentive to listen to group minorities under a majority rule system.

My Advice for Working in Teams

Then take a look at the “Advice on Teamwork” booklet. This booklet contains advice on a variety of topics associated with working in teams, including team formation, picking leaders, and escalating issues. Pick one of the topics from the booklet that most interests you. Read about the topic, and then make a post to our ICC Teamwork channel on Teams about your key takeaways about the topic. You can read through the entire booklet later too!

Booklet: Brandt_MyAdviceForWorkingInTeams_EN-US.pdf

Topics

Diverse Teams Are Smarter
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing
Stretch Collaboration
Babble Bias & Team Leadership
Setting Boundaries & Saying No
Feedback & Constructive Criticism
Dealing with Complaints
Division of Work
Making Escalations
Worst case scenarios
Conclusion

Knowledge Check: My Advice for Working in Teams

After reading through the booklet, check your understanding by taking this quiz.

1) According to Adam Kahane, which individual approach to teamwork is employed in each of the circumstances? Match the approach from the word bank to the circumstance described.

Word bank: Exit, Adapt, Force, Collaborate conventionally, Stretch collaboration
If you can’t change the situation, and you can’t bear it, you…
If you can’t change the situation, and you can bear it, you…
If you can effect change by yourself, you…
If you can’t effect change by yourself, and you can control the change, you…
If you can’t effect change by yourself, and you can’t control the change, you…

2) What is Babble Bias? Select the best answer.

Type of bias that equates leadership with the quantity of time a person speaks rather than the quality of their contributions
Type of response that can be the result of nervousness in which a person answers a question by providing TMI (too much information)

3) According to Nedra Tawwab, what are some acceptable ways to say ‘No’? Select all that apply.

I think I’ll pass.
I’m not taking on new things.
It doesn’t sound like the right fit.
I’d rather not, thanks.
That doesn’t work for me.
I appreciate your consideration, but no thank you.
No, thanks.
No. (Remember, “No” is a complete sentence.)

4) According to Kim Scott, what are the four ways in which providing feedback is approached? Match the feedback style from the word bank with its definition.

Word bank: Manipulative Insincerity, Ruinous Empathy, Obnoxious Aggression, Radical Candor
Praise that is insincere, flattery to a person’s face and harsh criticism behind their back
When you want to spare someone’s short-term feelings, so you don’t tell them something they need to know
Brutal honesty or front stabbing, when you challenge someone directly but don’t show you care about them personally
Caring personally while challenging directly, guidance and feedback that’s both kind and clear, specific, and sincere

5) According to Layla Saad, what should you focus on in communication?

Content of the message
Tone of the message

6) According to “Learning in the Thick of It,” what is a **brief back and what is an after action review? Use context clues to match the term to its definition.**

Restating the objectives of tasks at hand as one has understood those objectives to check for understanding before completing work
Reflecting on and documenting successes and areas for improvement after tasks have been completed

Self Reflection on Teamwork

Now that you’ve worked through the first activities on teamwork for this week, do some self reflection…

Much of the advice presented here is based on a U.S. perspective. Do you find the advice to be applicable to your context?
In “My Advice on Teamwork,” you learn that one of the instructor’s mottos is: If everyone at the table is a dog playing poker, be a dog playing poker. What does that motto mean? What motto(s) would you adopt for teamwork?
In what ways are you an excellent team member? What about your style of teamwork needs work?

📥 Download this Content

Find this file on our repo and download it.

🤖 GAI Study Prompts

Copy the downloaded content and try it with these prompts:

“What are some additional frameworks for understanding teamwork?”
“Please give me practical tips for progressing through Tuckman’s model of forming, storming, norming and performing more quickly as a team.”
“Give me examples of statements that I should accept for their content rather than judging them for their tone.”
“When working in homogenous teams, what can we do to ensure we have some of the benefits that would have come from having more diversity?”
“How do preferences for teamwork differ between culture A and culture B.”

Next Activity: Understanding Intercultural Competency