Teams of individuals who depend on each other to meet common goals are ubiquitous in our working world. The success of these teams depends not only on individual member characteristics, but also on how the team as a whole works together to coordinate activities, build relationships, manage inevitable differences and disagreements and achieve team goals. How individual characteristics combine at the team level to impact team processes and outcomes is a rich area of inquiry.
One characteristic of individuals with team implications is self-awareness about their contributions to the team. It’s been consistently found that we aren’t very good at assessing our abilities and we often believe we contribute more than others perceive we do (overrating), or conversely, we believe we contribute less (underrating). These differences create a gap between what we think and what others think. What impact do these gaps in self-awareness have on the teams? A recent study found that the greater the gap, or the lower the self-awareness that a team displayed, the greater was their experience of team conflict. This was true regardless of whether the gap was the result of team members overrating or underrating themselves. They also found that lower levels of self-awareness and increased levels of conflict negatively impacted team performance.
What does this mean for practitioners? Team level self-awareness is a team attribute that should be managed and considered when diagnosing team effectiveness. Challenges exist however, as self-perceptions are difficult to change without motivation. Suggestions by the study’s authors include developing team performance and process norms before they are needed; applying training resources towards aligning personal goals through feedback; and highlighting differences in perceptions using multi-party feedback tools popular in organizations. The authors caution that personal assessment tools (such as Meyer’s Briggs) are not sufficient. Individuals also need awareness of how others view their contributions to the team to better align self and other perceptions, leading to improved team functioning and performance.
Dierdorff, E. C., Fisher, D. M., & Rubin, R. S. (2018). The Power of Percipience: Consequences of Self-Awareness in Teams on Team-Level Functioning and Performance. Journal of Management,014920631877462. doi:10.1177/0149206318774622