I was recently in a certification training program because you could say that I have been “itching” to learn new stuff (and I think I learn pretty well). What surprised me is the kind of insight that comes from structure. I have known for a long time that people have needs. To the extent that these needs are met, we can determine “satisfaction”. However, I had not gone a step further as William Schutz did in 1958, where he discovered that needs can be expressed (initiated by self), but can also be a hidden desire (expected of from others).

I last talked about the Psychology Of Leadership and I thought it apt to discuss the topic on the psychology of teams, especially since I teach this to corporate clients in my Change Management workshops.

photo credit: joncandy

Have you noticed that some people work well in a team but some others just don’t? I’d been wondering about that myself and I realized several factors that influence the ability for someone to be part of such a team bonding event.

It’s commonly known that the world is becoming more and more individualistic and generally, good teams are seldom seen.  This is just a picture of a stadium, but it’s a representation of the playing field that a team goes on to determine whether it wins or loses.

photo credit: babasteve

It begins with the understanding of two different approaches. The first is the independent mindset, the second is the interdependent mindset.

In many cases, individuals who are brought up with the independent mindset think about themselves and consequences for them the majority of the time. Very often, people in this category are deemed as individualistic and uncooperative, and seldom have this intention of bringing out a win-win situation within a team.