Choice3: Comment on the barriers you encountered that impacted your team's ability to realize its full potential

(250 words) Executing software development activities across geographic and time zone boundaries presents unique challenges to any team. Although tools and technology do help, the largest gains for improving coordination are all related to the human aspects of relationships among the team members. Any team will have inherent hurdles which will impact its ability to achieve optimum performance. And my team was no different. It was a time when my client, a leading global investment bank, was going through a joint venture with another firm. And as expected, work was coming in thick and fast. At the start of this new challenge, we were at a loss as to how to begin. Even though each of us completed our individual assignments we were not able to move onto the next step. This floundering was due to our loss of focus on the bigger picture of things. Everyone was more fixated on other team members judging what they are doing, pointing fingers, speculating etc. There was no strategic team focus to move forward. Another ominous issue negatively impacting my team was the lack of openness to newer ideas. The team was stuck in practices that had been established years ago. Any suggestions for a change in approach by a newer team member were at once barricaded by the more experienced members who defended the old ways. This inflexible attitude frustrated and demotivated the newer members. Some team members tend to have a dominating personality that encroaches on the participation of the others. This overbearing attitude hurts the morale of the whole team and gives way to potential confrontations among the team members. The team members should spend some together in team-building activities and get to know each other better. Team members may find it interesting to learn more about their co-workers and this may also translate into better results. These are some of the more pressing issue affecting my teams ability to perform effectively. That being said, some these issues have addressed and my team is in a much better position now than when it was in the initial stages. The most effective teams can maintain best practices while adapting to new environments or organizational changes. In the words of the great British leader, Sir Winston Churchill, Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. And I believe this.