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Difference and challenge in teams
Difference and challenge in teams

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Difference and challenge in teams

Difference and challenge in teams

Introduction

Team development is about the team moving from a current state (what the team is currently: its outputs; its culture; its ways of working) into a new state. This free course, Difference and challenge in teams, looks at how teams ‘travel’ on that journey of development, how they get to the new, better, state. The course encourages you to recognise the challenge of individuals within the team pulling in different directions – and to identify where such challenges can be embraced.

The course opens with a metaphor drawn from nature – something to bear in mind as you think about your own team issues. There follows three mini case studies – interspersed with reflective activities – which consider different situations faced by managers who want to build better teams. The course ends with a couple of more extensive readings on the use of 'dialectical approaches' – tools for harnessing ‘creative conflict’.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course BG012 Developing better teams [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .

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