Six Myths Associated With Teamwork: Myth Vs. Reality

Briefly explain each myth and provide a short personal thought on the myth vs reality. There are six myths associated with teamwork. These myths are that (1) teams are harmonious people who compromise their needs for the sake of the team; (2) team conflict is unhealthy; (3) most people like teamwork; (4) teamwork is essential to business success; (5) teams are easy to influence and manage; and (6) senior managers encourage teamwork (Wright, 2013).
For each of the six aforementioned myths, the following are realities provided by David Wright (2013) that are associated with each. In regards to the first myth that teams are harmonious people who compromise their needs for the sake of the team, the reality is that good teams are made of diverse people with specific needs that need to be met. In my personal opinion, I believe that this reality is appropriate, as most teams teams are not comprised of harmonious people who put the team before their individual needs. As it relates to the second myth that team conflict is unhealthy, the reality is that conflict can be healthy and should be harnessed for …show more content…
I believe that it is difficult to put a number of the amount of employees that either like or dislike working on teams. It is my opinion that this number would be closer to fifty percent than the one-third suggested by Wright (2013). Therefore, I support the myth more so than I do the reality given. As it relates to fourth myth that teamwork is essential to business success, the reality is that teams can cope without teamwork for tasks and processes that lack complexity. Initially, I personally disagreed with the reality given due to current literature that equate organizational success with teamwork. That said, after considering all businesses are not created and structured equally, and working with teams may not even be an option, I agree with the reality