There are numerous factors that influence the formation, composition, operations, and success (or not) of teams. Below are a number of resources to help address these factors:
Team Collaboration Resources
Although each research project has unique features, certain core issues are common to most of them and can be addressed by collaborators by working through the questions in this Sample Partnering Agreement template, developed by the NIH Office of the Ombudsman.
More resources to help your team define how they will work together and to do so effectively include:
Collaboration and Responsible Conduct of Research
This Library Guide on Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity provides access to a host of resources on collaboration and the responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity.
Challenging Team Members
Some team members may present challenges for the group. These articles provide guidance for managing difficult personalities:
- A Field Guide to Jerks at Work by Jena McGregor (The Washington Post)
- How to Work with Someone Who Isn’t a Team Player by Carolyn O’Hara
Stages of Team Development
Bringing people together to work on a project seems simple, but forming a strong engaged team takes a little work. This article describes the different stages of team development and provides guidance on how to navigate the rocky ones:
Team Skills and Dynamics
Many drivers of conflict within a team are unseen – goals, roles, and procedures – and are consequently not addressed. There are a number of questions and tools that a team can use to prevent these conflicts, including spending the time to develop a charter that lays out a team’s identity, mission, vision, procedures/norms, boundaries, and endorsement. A team charter is dynamic as it reflects the growth, maturation, and changes that teams are constantly undergoing, and the charter may be applied in different ways depending on factors such as team size. Ultimately, though, it is intended to provide a common understanding of goals, roles, procedures, etc. to all team members and increase the team’s opportunity to achieve success.
- CoRE Team Skills & Dynamics Presentation by Tuck Pescosolido (UNH Chair and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Management)
- CoRE Team Charter Template provided by Tuck Pescosolido (UNH Chair and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Management)
Working with Other Disciplines
This article describes 10 things that can make interdisciplinary collaboration easier and more effective.
Communication and Collaboration
Ethical cornerstones lay the foundation for collaboration such that relationships are valued; trust is built; social capital is established; and accountability is defined. To build collaborations and ensure that these cornerstones are solid, teams need productive (and sometimes challenging) communications to assess the values, wants, needs, desires, and progress of the collaboration and to move from individual interests and values to group interests and values.
- CoRE Communication and Collaboration Presentation by Renee Heath (UNH Senior Lecturer of Communication)
- The Pyramid of Collaborative Language by Renee Heath and Matthew Isbell
Online Tools to Foster Team Development and Productivity
This seminar discusses innovative strategies and tools that can be used remotely to foster research teams and hold productive research retreats, while combatting Zoom fatigue.
- Interdisciplinary Research in the Age of Zoom: Fostering Research Teams and Productive Research Retreats ... Despite Zoom Fatigue by Alecia Magnifico (UNH Associate Professor of English) and Bethany Silva (UNH Research Assistant Professor of Education) and TILDE team representatives Ashley Barry (UNH Lecturer of English) and Laura Allen (UNH Assistant Professor of Psychology).
