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Team Role Paper

Communications/COM100
March 13, 2010
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Team Role Paper
Like players on a baseball team, team members fill specific, defined rol
es that collectively achieve a common goal. People fill these roles by voluntee
ring, being elected, or appointed. Roles are established by the way a person con
sistently communicates, behaves, contributes, and relates with others within a g
roup (Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Ivy, 2009). Teams work best when team membe
rs know their roles. A balance of these roles, enhances the teams strengths and
allows the team to manage their weaknesses. This paper will explain how roles
and responsibilities within a team contribute to effectiveness, cohesion, and pr
oject completion.
Designating specific roles and responsibilities in a team promotes effec
tiveness. This can be done by valuing the strengths of each team member to prom
ote unity. According to D. Johnson and F. Johnson (1997) there are five keys to
a productive team: positive independence, individual accountability, primitive
(face-to-face) interaction, appropriate use of social skills, and group process
ing.
â ¢ Positive independence is the time members of a team achieves, and learn how to r
ely on each other when completing a project.
â ¢ Individual accountability is the time each team member is held totally responsib
le for his or her contribution for the completion of a project.
â ¢ Primitive (face-to-face) interaction is the time that positive feedback should b
e recognized for the team memberâ s contributions, and should be implied by all team
members of this accomplishment.
â ¢ The appropriate use of social skills and interpersonal skills within small group
s is critical to the team success. Communication skills within the group add to
building positive relationships, achievements, and productivity.
â ¢ Group processing techniques reflects on how well the team is functioning and how
well members are using their social and interpersonal skills. Effective teamwo
rk does not just happen, it is a result of the continual maintenance of the team
.
Designating specific roles and responsibilities among members of a team
helps promote cohesion within the team. Although each member may be assigned a d
ifferent portion of the paper or project, each team member should all be working
as a whole to achieve the same specific goal. Team members often have different
strengths and weaknesses. By having specific roles for team members it can hel
p to maximize individual strengths while using the strengths of others to compen
sate for certain weaknesses of the team. This helps the team to be more efficien
t when working on projects as well as minimizing their weaknesses.
When a team or group is working to achieve a common objective it is alwa
ys recommended that all team members be on the same page. The individual though
ts and ideas of team member can be used as an effective tool to help mold and ex
press the overall idea of the team. Each person may have a distinct way of expr
essing themselves, which may make for a more interesting interpretation of the t
eam's ideas.
Designating specific roles and responsibilities for completing a team pr
oject is important because it helps to promote a sense of teamwork. The appointi
ng of various roles allows each area of the project to receive the attention tha
t it deserves. When each team member has input, it gives the members a feeling o
f accomplishment and value toward the team. Although each team member has a dif
ferent task, the roles and responsibilities are assigned to promote dependabilit
y. Each team member has to communicate and work with other members of the team
to make sure that the project has the proper flow. It will also make forecastin
g of time and project deadlines achievable. This brings a sense of order, and s
tructure to the project allowing each team member to have the creative freedom w
ithin their assign section. When a team member has the opportunity to focus on a
specific area this creates a win/win for the team.
An effective and efficient team brings together a diverse group of peopl
e with certain skills and talents that are able cohesively to complete complex p
rojects. "Teams are important because they can accomplish much more than any of
the members could achieve individually" (BNET Editorial, n.d.). The roles and
responsibilities of each team member create the overall chemistry of the team.
Team chemistry does not just happen, but through the challenges of managing conf
lict, organizing decision-making abilities, creating quality work, and completin
g projects, trust and respect will develop. Once this does, teams will work as
a well oiled machine enabling them to accomplish the desired goal.

Reference
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Ivy, D. K. (2009). Communication: Principles for a
lifetime. Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
BNET Editorial, (n.d.). Assigning team roles. Retrieved from http://www.bnet.co
m/2410-13059_23-64251.html.
Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (1997). Joining together: Group theory and group skill
s. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

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