Team Building One of the biggest headaches that leaders face in managing complicated and complex tasks is turning diverse groups of employees into teams. For such teams to be successful, it is important for leaders to identify and clearly define the desired outcomes, set milestones, formulate a team-by-team game plan, which is complete with standards and deadlines, and keep team members focused.

Importance of Establishing Ground Rules and Respecting Cultures Amongst Team Members

Ground rules are crucial in the team context, since they define how members engage with each other during meetings and in workplaces. Ground rules are key to preventing conflict in workplaces, since they define the team's decision making process and participation in meetings. Additionally, ground rules act as safeguards to prevent unnecessary escalation. Teams work smoothly, if members clearly understand the rules and commit to following them. For instance, creating a rule against personal confrontation can help reduce the possibility of such from taking place in meetings or in the workplace. Another example of how such rules might help in the smooth running of teams is to set rules on attendance and clearly define the measures to be taken against members who don't adhere to the attendance rules (Maiese, 2004).

For instance, having a rule of no interruption can give every group member an equal opportunity to participate in group meetings. It can also help members to refrain from caustic or judgmental responses. Adopting procedures for meetings can also help team members to quickly make decisions during meetings (Carpenter & Kennedy, 2001). If members commit to sticking to the rules and see how effective they are in helping their teams work efficiently, they can be more inclined to follow the rules to the latter; as a result, the team members will be less likely to engage in some kind of behavior that undermines the rules.
Similar to the establishment of ground rules, utmost respect for all the cultures or religions of team members can improve team performance. Mutual respect for different cultures can also create an atmosphere whereby team leaders can leverage on the different skills and talents from the diverse team members to create a synergistic work environment, enhancing the performance of different teams (Maiese, 2004; Carpenter & Kennedy, 2001).

Diversity and Team Performance

Although on one hand it may appear easier for individuals from similar cultures or backgrounds to work together, on…