The facilitation of a team-building process: implications for mental health

Abstract

The goal of this article was to explore and describe team members' experience of obstacles in their functioning as an effective team and their views of elements contributing to an effective and productive team. An effective and productive team could be a mentally healthy and emotional intelligent team. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was followed utilising the phenomenological strategy with semi-structured interviews and naïve sketches as method of data gathering. A purposive sample consisting of two teams with eight members each was used in this research. Data was analysed through a process of open coding and recontextualised within the given context of the specific business. A literature control was done to verify the data and compare it with other research done in the field of team-building. Strategies to ensure trustworthiness were adhered to. It was clear that these team members experienced many obstacles hindering their effective functioning as a team within the organisation. Obstacles included autocracy from top management, unclear direction within the company, and low motivation of team members resulting in high staff turnover, numerous days' sick leave, and low productivity. They also experienced dysfunctional lines of communication, mistrust and ineffective interpersonal relationships. Poor problem-solving skills together with a lack of self-awareness were also described. Participants identified elements contributing to an effective and productive team. On the basis of all the data gathered and the literature, guidelines for developing an emotionally intelligent team and emotionally intelligent individual team members were described in the form of a process outline.


Health SA Gesondheid Vol.6(3) 2001: 3-17