Teams or Groups: Introverts, Ambiverts, Extroverts

Teams or Groups: Introverts, Ambiverts, Extroverts

Over the 38 years since 1980 when I was hired to do my first workshop and my first keynote speeches about leading, communicating, teaming and creative thinking, whether as individual topics, combined or integrated I have developed my understandings of TEAMWORK.

Introverts make good team players when matched with people of similar to the same commitment, degree of knowledge and skills

Extroverts make good team players but sometimes those teams border on becoming groups and end up group thinking.

My work with thinking styles helped me develop a model of TYPES or STYLES of Teams.

I used 4 types of sports as metaphors or analogies.

Football (american)
Baseball
Basketball
Olympic teams

Meditative - Football--logical people prefer to work on Football teams with lots ot thinking, strategizing, planning and with lots of breaks

Directive - Baseball -- systematic, rule following, highly structured, pre-planned or specific jobs for specific roles

Negotiative - Basketball -- simultaneous team work, everyone working together all at the same time

Intuitive - Olympics....relay races, total points for the total olympic athletes ....many to all of them working completely on their own competing at their special event

Not perfect but it challenged people to think that not all teams are alike and not all people like to work in teams for more than during the specific task needed to be completed.

The idea that people can work as teams for 8 hours, 40 hoours...is unrealistic to rediculous.

Can departments, organizations be more TEAM-LIKE?

Yes

My culture much like what I understand of NZ, AUS, SA, England is more individual focus.

The Confucius based Asian countries: Japan, Korea, Taiwan where their populations tend to be more homogentic, of the same race, culture, religion tend to more comfortable working in teams or mostly groups.

There has been much written about the teamwork of the Japanese.

I have read some Japanese books and watch some Japanese television and the stories contradict those generalizations.

My experiences and study have both taught me to accept that most of the billions of dollars, pounds, euros, etc. spent since the early to mid-80s on trying to teach people to be able to work in teams has mostly been wasted.

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