University Project: Team Dynamics and Leadership in Construction

This report delves into the intricacies of team dynamics and leadership within a construction project context. It begins with an introduction that defines team dynamics and underscores the significance of effective leadership in fostering collaboration and achieving project goals. The report then details the roles and responsibilities of team members, including the team leader, architect, surveyor, engineer, and contractor, within a construction environment. It further explores the project's purpose, the team's structure, and various factors such as team motivation, culture, communication, conflict resolution, and project team learning. The report emphasizes the importance of motivation, communication, and a well-defined structure for the successful completion of a construction project, and concludes with a discussion of the team's overall performance and recommendations for improvement.

Team Dynamics
and
Leadership

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
Description of your roles and work environment situation......................................................................3
Short description of the team members and the project purpose..............................................................5
Project team structure..............................................................................................................................6
Project team motivation...........................................................................................................................7
Project team composition........................................................................................................................9
Project team culture...............................................................................................................................10
Project team leadership..........................................................................................................................11
Project team communication.................................................................................................................12
Project team conflict..............................................................................................................................13
Project negotiation.................................................................................................................................15
Project team learning.............................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................16
REFRENCES............................................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Team is a group of two or more than individuals working together towards a common
objective and specified purpose it can be made for a long-term or for few hours. In relation to
this team dynamics can be effectively understood as a manner in which team member’s roles and
behaviour in a distinctive manner impacts on other team members group as a whole (Barnett and
Weidenfeller, 2016). Team dynamics can be defined as a psychological and unconscious factor
that influences the direction of team performance and behaviour. A Team should be lead towards
in a positive manner by a team leader as this will help towards building trust on each other and
influence collective working and accomplishment of predetermined outcomes. It is necessary to
guide and encourage team in a positive manner as good team dynamics are more constructive
and productive. Also by working in a mutual understanding and collective manner
accomplishment of team goals can be effectively done. It is essential for a leader to guide team
members in an effective manner as team dynamics directly and indirectly impact upon
effectiveness creativity and productivity of a team as a whole. With the help of great team
dynamics an organisation can able to extract better work outcomes, improve bottom line and
consumer satisfaction. In this present report, constructive work team effectiveness is discussed
along with roles and responsibilities of team members. In addition with this, the report covers
various factors of project team such as team motivation, project team Culture, communication,
conflicts, structure and learning of a project team.
Description of your roles and work environment situation
As working in construction team requires participation of a number of members as they
are responsible to carry certain different role in the entire process of construction. As the team
members handle certain jobs that needs to taken care with full responsibility and care (Boies,
Fiset and Gill, 2015). Different members of the teams are construction client, special consultant,
engineer and contractor etc. As an team leader my role in the entire process was one of the
important as it comprises of certain roles and responsibilities such as coordinating the processes
and people that were involved in designing, managing and overseeing the project at different
stages so that the project can be directed towards right direction. Along with it a team leader is
suppose to wear many hats in entire process of directing and assessing a group such as
motivating and inspiring the different members of the tem to give their full potential in the
project. The project involved surveying the area where the construction needs to done Along

with it also involved paying special attention to the environment so that the project is done in
such a way that minimum damages can be done to the natural environment (Cooke and Hilton,
2015). It also comprises of studying the government codes so that the construction can be done
in a way that the team does not face any legal complications after assessment of all these factor
then involving all other members to facilitates a situation where the advice of other team
members involved in the process can be taken and valued so that their valuable insight can be
used in the process. As a team leader I worked on different angles that can make the work
interesting and engaging for team members by motivating and inspiring team member regular
intervals.
As a team leader the job involves connecting the personal goals with the business goals
so that persons involved in the process can work more efficiently. It also involve involving
everyone I the process as the construction process is a group process and various efforts of
different individuals are involved in the entire process thus, it requires everyone involvement and
by trusting and empowering employees which resulted in creative ideas in the project and also it
result in encouraging employees to work with more zeal and excitement in the entire process. As
by consulting with other team member such as architect and contractor that project idea can be
converted into an actual plan and all the team members can be engaged on a higher level
(D’Innocenzo, Mathieu and Kukenberger, 2016). In the entire process regular communication is
being done with all the member so that the plan can go as per the planning and also it helps in
taking regular feedback o that the project can be completed in the assigned the period.
The working environment situation comprised of an environment where continuous
motivation is being provided to the entire team member so that they can give their highest
potential in the entire construction process. Under which different task were being monitored on
a regular basis and their information being communicated across all the departments. Team
members were allowed o present their opinion in an open environment which further motivate
the team members to work with full zeal towards accomplishment of the set goals. The
environment facilitated combination of business insight along with entrepreneurial savvy that
helped all the team members in a positive manner (De Hoogh and et. al., 2015). Along with
monitoring the different processes and activities of individuals it helps in keeping the project in
time and also in checking on if the project is going in the right direction or not. As the team

members were proved an opportunity to present their ideas and they were motivated on timely
basis that helped in keeping an open environment and friendly environment among different
members of the teams.
Short description of the team members and the project purpose
The team comprised of different members that such as architect, surveyor, engineer and
team leader, contractor and town players. All of the team members hold an important place in the
project for instance the contractors are responsible to provide raw material and labor to the
project which are important part of the project because without them the construction cannot be
done (Dong, and et. al., 2017). Whereas engineers and architects are responsible to for designing
and surveyor is responsible to provide information related to area was construction will take
place. The project teams are a group of individuals that works together for a common objective.
This types of teams helps in structuring work in a specific, time constrained and measurable way.
Along with it helps in establishment of clear roles, responsibilities and deadlines and enables
selection of both experience and inexperienced worker in the entire construction process. Under
the project the type of team was a cross functional team under which individual from different
department were brought together in order to achieve common goals. These teams are
responsible to tackle different specific task that requires different level of input and expertise.
The construction project will require members from different department such as from
management department accountant will be required to assign budget that will be assigned to
different activities such as raw material and labour (Dresche and et. al., 2014). The legal
department needs to adhere to different laws that are related with the construction process so that
they can avoid legal complications. Certain characteristics of the teams can be elaborated below-
 Defining in advance what work is important so that priorities can be set in the entire
process.
 Mutually agreeing on goals, schedules and accountability.
 Not interfering in other team’s task unless there task is not meeting with major
commitments.
 Involving members with different skill set towards achievement of common goals.
 Inclusion of people from different level of the department in the organization (Fausing
and et. al, 2015).

The purpose of the team is to set goals and achieve their common goals in an effective and
cost efficient manner. Their goals is also to coordinate and communicate at different levels of
the project so that their project can be finished in specified time frame and also to ensure that the
resources are being utilized at an optimum level and all the team members can contribute their
full potential in the project (Grille, Schulte and Kauffeld, 2015).
Project team structure
The projects that comprise with designing and constructing building involve large
numbers of people and the structure and composition of the project tam tends to differ at
different levels of the project (Hawkins, 2017). Some of the member might only have brief
involvement which involves bringing specialist knowledge or supplying specialist components
during particular phase of the project. Whilst others such as project manager or lead consultant
that gets involved in the project for a longer period of time in comparison.
The composition of the project team tends to change in the lifespan of the project which
may include many members. The team project structure can be elaborated below-
Figure 1 PROJECT TEAM STRUCURE.

The roles, responsibilities and reporting mechanism are defined in an effective manner
and were being comminuted in an effective manner in the team. Along with proper clarity were
provided in relation with the risk for delivering parts (Huettermann, Doering and Boerner, 2014).
The structure of the project depict that there are certain people that are working at different level
of the project for instance the and consultant involve architect and engineers that are responsible
to design the project plan and cost consultant are responsible for proving insight in relation with
the cost that needed to be involved in the project. At the same level are the contractors that
supply raw material and labour for the project. On the superior hierarchy the project manager
who is responsible to coordinate the efforts of all the team members in a systematic manner so
that all the efforts of the team can be directed towards common goals.
The structure helps in setting various factors such as it helps in distribution of roles and
responsibility among different team ambers as per their potential so that there potential can be
utilized at an optimum level in the workplace it also helps in setting hierarchy among the team
ambers and it define that the work of consultant and contractors are to be coordinated by project
manager and team leaders do that they can regular feedback and can also ensure that different
processes of the business are taking place at the right point of time in order to finch the project at
the given period of time and ignore that cost that will occur if the project gets delayed by any
reasons (Mathie and et. Al., 2015). The top of the structure involves board of director that are
responsible to take up projects after analyzing the cost and profit associated with the project so
that they can out if the particular construction project will be profitable or not under the director
them comes the investor who are responsible to provide money that will be used in the different
areas such as in the purchase of raw material and in hiring labor force. the group efforts of all the
members of the structure is required in order to complete the construction project in an effective
manner and also in the assigned time period.
Project team motivation
It is the responsibility of team leader to motivate their team members in an effective
manner in order to bring best out of them as team motivated in a poorly manner can lead towards
ineffective project outcomes. Thus good Project leader is required to know the manner in which
they can initially encourage excitement within team members and motivate them towards success
throughout the overall project life cycle (Mitchell and et. al., 2015). It is essential for a team

leader to manage Complex human behaviour of the team members and motivate them
accordingly. Therefore, motivation theory act as a greatest element with the help of which team
leaders can effectively provide intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to their team members in this
intrinsic motivation factors include values and believes while extrinsic include money and
reorganization with the help of these factors team leader can effectively able to meet lower-level
demand of the team members that include food security and shelter (Murphy, Curtis and
McCloughen, 2016). With the help of great motivation team goals and objectives can be
effectively fulfilled along with increase in the performance level of team members. There are
some basic steps or approaches with the help of which team leader can bring motivation within
their team:
Setting goals It is not necessary to just set a goals it is required to properly explain the
importance of that goal for the organisation to team members. In relation to this team leader
plays an important role in order to acknowledge team members about the role and importance of
their contribution so to accomplish goal in a best possible manner (Redick and et. al, 2014).
Innovation A good team leader is required to establish a culture in which innovation and
celebration of success is adopted. It is a responsibility of a team leader to celebrate the success of
new idea from the team members this acts as a one of the major motivator that effectively
increases team member’s performance and make them challenging to take more opportunities.
Mentioned below there is a theory of motivation with the help of which leader can
effectively encourage their team members:
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Psychological needs: In this lowest level factors are included which is related to basic
needs of an individual to survive that include food air and water (Willems, 2016).
Safety and security needs: This is the second level factor in which various elements
related to personal security safety against accident health and wellbeing are included. Thus it is
the basic responsibility of a team leader to ensure that each and every team members are insured
and secured with their security needs.

Social needs: In this factor of Maslow Hierarchy of needs people want to feel the sense of
acceptance and belongingness. Therefore it is the major responsibility of a team leader to ensure
there is a proper and positive communication within the team which stimulates every individual
belonging factor (Zhang and et. al, 2015).
Self esteem need: This is the 4th level factor in which individual seeks to be respected and
looks towards respect for their accomplishment.
Actualization needs: This is the top level need in which it is essential for a leader to
realise their each and every team member’s potentials in order to bring best out of them and
increases their job level performance.
Project team composition
The project comprised of different members along with different roles and
responsibilities that can be elaborated below-
The surveyor- It is the individual who is the custodian of the land information. The
information comprises of various factor such as location features, size and topology. It is
important to gain such information in order to facilitate proper adequate and effective planning
for the project (Barnett and Weidenfeller, 2016).
The architect- Architect is helpful member in the tem as they are responsible for
designing the project in terms of both artistic and functional manner. As a individuals who is
licensed professional they are also responsible to maintain terms in the project that facilitates
public safety and also to overseeing the project at different intervals so that the project can be
directed in the right direction.
The engineer- They are important members of the design team. There responsibility involves
assisting the overall design of the project while keeping the project their scope. There are
different types of engineers that are required in a project such as geotechnical, structural, electric
and mechanical. That is responsible to carry out different analyses and calculation before
reaching at the optimal design solution for a building (Boies, Fiset and Gill, 2015).

The quality surveyor- The surveyor posses certain level of expertise in the construction
costs. Surveyor is responsible to plan and estimate appropriate cost from sketch drawing and also
checking on the elements cost during the design in order to finish the project in the set cost.
Team leader- the team leader plays a crucial role that involve maintaining coordination
among different members of the tem by facilitating communication among different team
members so that all the efforts of different team members can be directed towards achievement
of common goals and objectives (Cooke and Hilton, 2015). The tem leaders are also responsible
to encourage and motivate different members of the team so that they can work more efficiently
in the workplace.
Contractors- the role of the contractor in the construction process is very important as
they are responsible for supplying different things such as raw material, labour and equipment
along with services that are important for the construction of a project. As the process requires
raw material such as sand and cement and man power in term of labour they tend to provide
basic requirement that are important for the construction activates to take place.
The project tem composes of different members that are responsible to handle different
jobs and responsibilities in the organization (D’Innocenzo, Mathieu and Kukenberger, 2016).
Project team culture
Culture comprises of values, behavior and beliefs of individual. There are different types
of culture which prevails within organization. Organizational culture creates strong impact on
team and ways in which operations are carried out. Organizations make use of handy’s culture
which comprises of power, task, person and role culture. Power culture is the one in which
power is possessed by few persons. In this decision is taken by leader and these decisions are
very quick. Role culture will exist within construction work team when they are working on the
basis of certain rules. This team culture signifies that team members are highly controlled as
every member knows their responsibilities as well as roles (De Hoogh and et. al., 2015). Power is
defined by position of possessed by individuals within team. This culture within construction
work organization will denote that people have within this structure have delegated authority. If
task culture is followed within construction work team then teams will be formed as per progress
as well as problems associated with project. In this case power will shift between team members

depending upon requirements of team. Teams are formulated depending upon requirement of
project and for finding solution to them. Power is derived from expertise or team leader who is
the active part of team. In this team forms their own objectives and they are ready to take risks so
that they can have enhanced results (Dong, and et. al., 2017).
Person culture within construction work team signifies that each person has their own
unique and superior power within an organization. In this people are from same background and
have same expertise and training. They can be like lawyers, doctors or anyone who is in the same
profession within same organization. In this, power is with each group. Each culture have their
own positive and negative points which makes them strong and weak. In construction work team
task culture can be used as in this case works vary like sometimes it will be construction of any
building, sometimes bridges or roads. Depending upon the task teams are formulated and power
will depend on expertise of specific project (Dresche and et. al., 2014). Team culture has strong
impact on the team and leader acts as a roadmap who provides direction to entire team to carry
out their work in desired manner. If positive culture exists then it will lead to achievement of
goals in desired manner and if it is not so then it will become difficult for the team to yield
positive results within stipulated time duration.
Project team leadership
In order to achieve determine goals and objectives of a team and stimulate each and every
team member performance towards effectiveness it is the major responsibility of a team leader to
take advantage of Tools and techniques. It will help them to manage their team member roles
towards more efficiency. In this regards the major responsibility of a project team leaders is to
ensure that project is planned and executed in a predetermined manner and roles and
responsibilities are shared among team members in an equal manner in order to ensure effective
management. In addition with this team leader holds a major responsibility to maintain project
plan and evaluate current project status in order to ensure and extract best interests (Fausing and
et. al, 2015). In relation with this with the help of situational leadership Theory which was
coined by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard project team leader can effectively determine
effectiveness of their team members. With the help of this technique team leader can make
decisions as per the situation and set goals and contributions along with recognising every

individual contribution in team goals as per the prevailed situation. This will further help to
deliver best outcome and accomplishment of assigned work in a scheduled manner.
Project team communication
Communication is a way for exchanging and imparting information either by writing,
speaking or by using any other medium. Basically, it is means by knowledge can be received and
transmitted by different means (Grille, Schulte and Kauffeld, 2015). Team leader of construction
work team needs to be a good communicator. This is a skill which can be improvised and it
enables execution of project in appropriate manner. Team comprises of diverse group of people,
it becomes difficult and challenging for team leader to communicate with them. Successful
communication is about being there for everyone and communicates with each one so that the
real issues related with project can be delivered in required manner. Apart from this, it is
necessary that each member must know their roles and responsibilities which they have lay down
in the project. It is necessary that everyone is visible and engaged while carrying out project both
in good as well as challenging times. Communication within construction work team not only
comprises of speaking and listening, basically it is about understanding of different aspects
associated with it. Therefore, successful project leader needs to enhance efficiency of
communication by leading as an example (Hawkins, 2017).
Figure 2 Impact of Communication