The lone wolf versus the team player.

The Lone wolf versus the team player.

Group No.2

Roll No PRN Name

41404 18020148004 Ashutosh Pandey

41405 18020148005 Badarayani Sridhar Shrinivas
41406 18020148006 Bhavesh P Naik

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Introduction

In any establishment no two individuals can be the same. Everyone has their own unique quality
and it plays a major role in the way they do the work, interact with their peers and their behavior at
workplace. Some of them enjoy working as a team i.e. Team Players and some of them like to keep to
themselves and do their work alone without the help of anyone i.e. Lone Wolf. The term “lone wolf” can
be referred to a person that generally spends time alone in isolation when given a task or performs his duties
and likes to do tasks his/her own way without considering any other opinion. A team player can be referred
to as someone who is good at working closely with other people and who tries to do what is good for
the group rather than what is good for just himself or herself.

Our research focusses on the pros and cons of a Lone Wolf vs Team Player and on how being one
impacts the work and overall adds value to the organization. While being a Lone Wolf is considered better
for smaller establishments when he can focus more but doing the work collectively has its own benefits and
can add more efficiency. In the course of our study we analyze various behavioral aspects of being a Lone
Wolf and Team Player and how we can differentiate the individuals and advantages and disadvantages of
being one.

Our research focuses on perception of various working professionals regarding a team player vs a
lone wolf. In the opinion and experience of these professionals who they would rate better in terms of
efficiency and productivity, leadership positions, behavioral aspects etc. and finally who they would pick
in their team if they had an option. The opinions of the working professionals are important as we get useful
insight to which personality will have an edge in an organization and who has an upper hand in influencing
the decisions of their peers. It is also imperative to note that though we can broadly categorize these two
personalities, they are the two ends of a spectrum and there are people who fall near to the neutral line too.
Given that these people might classify themselves as a ‘Team Player’ or a ‘Lone Wolf’, they might also
find themselves preferring to work in a team for some tasks and alone in other tasks which suites their
preference. In this study we will be concentrating on the two opposite personalities, that is ‘Team Player’
and ‘Lone Wolf’.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of how people perceive ‘Team Players’ and
‘Lone Wolf’ in an organization and to consider their opinion of what they find to be the advantages and
disadvantages of each personality type.

Identifying such personalities and putting their strengths and weaknesses being a Lone Wolf or
Team Player is critical in an organization as it leads to the overall success of the firm. Our study identifies
the perception of the working professionals regarding the same and categorizes the individuals and brings
out the pros and cons of being one. As a manager it’s important on how you deal with a particular individual
and what tasks to give a Lone Wolf and what to a Team Player to achieve maximum efficiency in an
organization.

Though this study is of the perception of the working professionals on the twin personalities of
Lone wolf and Team player, we should note that the reality is usually not that far from the perception. While
either personality type has its own advantages and disadvantages, if a person in either personality type can
identify his short comings and work on them with the help of the positive points of the opposite personality
type, it can be very beneficial for that person and the person in question can develop leadership qualities
and progress in his career at a faster pace than his peers. This study will help identify such short comings
and will give a fair idea about how one is perceived in a workplace, which they can use to their advantage.

Lone Wolf Behavioral Characteristics:

A lone wolf is a character stereotype wherein a person prefers to be alone rather than be in a group. Just
like a wolf that does not have the desire to be in a pack when by nature, wolves are drawn to be part of a
pack. In animals such as wolves, there will be the ones that will either be left behind or choose to leave. A
lone wolf in the animal kingdom can be the older one pushed away by the stronger and alpha male members
of the pack. Conversely, a younger wolf chooses to leave in order to find its own pack. There are people
we meet in lives who fall in this category. He or she is the colleague who prefers not to attend a Friday
night out with the rest, the employee who would rather work alone than in a group and that person who will
attend team building activities but who will not really participate.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Team Player Behavioral Characteristics:

Good team players are often defined in trait terms; that is, they are described as dependable,
flexible, or cooperative. Our goal is to examine the relationship between team member personality traits
and team effectiveness. However, to understand the effects of personality on team performance requires
greater specificity in how personality is described and in how team effectiveness is described. A hierarchical
model of team member personality is presented that defines higher-level personality traits and specific
facets relevant to team performance. Next, a classification of the core teamwork dimensions underlying
effective team performance is presented. Finally, predictions are derived linking team member personality
facets to specific teamwork requirements.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Design / Methodology / Approach

Our methodology involved collecting primary data by designing a questionnaire based on the
parameters of efficiency and productivity, behavioral aspects, leadership positions etc. and floating it to
various working professionals and analyzing it to come to a generic conclusion. The questionnaire was
designed to get first hand information regarding the opinions and perceptions one has about a ‘Lone wolf’
or ‘Team player’ in a work environment. We will then consolidate the data received and analyze whether
the general opinion of the responses regarding the pros and cons match throughout.

Questionnaire

What is your age?

a. 18-25

b. 26-35

c. 36-45

d. 46-55

e. 56-65

f. 65+

What is your current designation?

a. Fresher
b. Associate level

c. Sr. Associate

d. Mid-level management.

e. Sr. Management

f. Director

What would you consider yourself as?

a. Lone Wolf

b. Team Player

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

In your opinion what are the advantages of lone wolf?

In your opinion what are the disadvantages of lone wolf?

In your opinion what are the advantages of team player?

In your opinion what are the disadvantages of team player?

Whom do you think would perform better in leadership position?

a. Lone Wolf

b. Team Player

Why?

Whom do you think is more productive in an individual capacity?

a. Lone Wolf

b. Team Player

Whom would you trust to complete the given work on time?

a. Lone Wolf

b. Team Player

Who is a better mentor?

a. Lone Wolf

b. Team Player

Considering that both personalities have their own advantages, who would you pick in your
team?
a. Lone Wolf
b. Team Player

Who is better in behavioral aspects?

a. Lone Wolf

b. Team Player

"For the growth of the organization, both 'Team player' and 'Lone wolf' are necessary."
a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Findings:

Based upon our method the below is what we found based on the consolidated data:

Advantages of being a Lone wolf:

 A person's creativity can be sparked when given freedom, as freedom from distractions has the
potential to spark creativity.
 It also provides time for contemplation, growth in personal spirituality, and self-examination, this
experience makes changes to their self-concept and can lead to development of self.
 One can take one's own decisions. Do not have to wait for other people's opinions. Can set
goals/timelines/deadlines as per their convenience. This can save some time.

Disadvantages of being a Lone wolf:

 If stuck up in work, help is limited. Must be solely responsible for the work. Can sometimes be
difficult to handle the entire load.
 You lack in multiple skills on team bonding and people management.
 If anything goes wrong, then you are sole responsible.
 Difficult to handle as doesn't believe in hierarchy.

Advantages of being a Team Player:

 Increases Productivity: Teamwork allows you to distribute tasks so that each person takes care of
the tasks for which he or she is better qualified.
 Pleasant Workplace: Human beings share their experiences with others and this can provide extra
energy at low times.
 Increases motivation: Feeling part of a team is a spur to motivation.
 Provides more learning opportunities: The people who form a team will have diverse backgrounds,
ways of being, training and all kinds of different professional and life experiences, which will be a
continuous opportunity to continue learning things.
 Facilitates organization: Planning and organizing for a group is easier than doing so for individuals.
Both communication and resource allocation will be easier to do if we target a few teams than
targeting a large number of individuals.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Disadvantages of being a Team Player:

 Division of groups into sub-groups: Sometimes, as soon as a problem arises, the group will split.
On other occasions, it will be the previous division that will generate the conflicts.
 Imposing Judgment: Whether it is the boss or someone else who takes the initiative, all opinions
must be respected and taken into account.
 Wasting time: For the group to feel motivated, it is desirable that all of its members – or at least
most of them – agree with the decisions that the team makes, and sometimes that won’t be easy and
will involve investing a great deal of time in reaching a common position.
 Decrease in performance of people: Especially when the groups are too large, there is this
phenomenon in which some of the people who are in the team will work less than they would
individually, hoping that the rest of the group will compensate for their reluctance.

Also based on the survey the following data was obtained:

Participants responses:

Majortity of the participants falling in the Associate level to mid level managemnt and a
few freshers and Director level participants.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Majority of the participants consider themselves to be a Team Player and the Lone wolf personality
find themselves in the minority.

The popular reason provided by participants:

For Team Player:

 Like to communicate and interact with people. Sometimes it backfires to make all decisions on
your own and it is better to learn from others mistakes as well instead of learning from your own
mistakes only. In team individuals stretch beyond their capacity by getting motivated by others.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

 The belief was to consider the opinions of the teammates before arriving at a decision will help to
boost morale of the team as they feel that their opinion is considered before decision making and
helps the leader to make a well-informed decision.
 Only a person who is accommodating, understanding, co-operative with a combination of decision
making can be a good leader. In this case a team player who has been a team player even in the
position that he is leading now has the trust of his colleagues and they all look up to him/her to do
things that benefit the whole team rather than himself/herself.

For Lone Wolf:

 Aggressive nature of Lone Wolf towards job at hand is seen in the approach and it motivates the
team as it instils the same aggression in the teammates as well. The Lone wolf attitude to
accomplish the task at any cost and no-nonsense attitude keeps the team on the toes and doesn’t
allow complacency to set in.
 A leader needs to take quick decisions from time to time and the Lone wolf’s approach to decision
making suits this parameter as a Lone wolf trusts his judgement to choose the right option while
decision making based on his experiences.

Lone wolf beating the team player here marginally showing that Lone wolf’s approach towards work is
perceived to be efficient and productive.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Both the personality types almost at par in this parameter.

Team Player leading in the mentorship parameter mostly mirrors the result of the leadership parameter.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Team players are prioritized over Lone wolf to be picked in the team if the team leader is provided with the
choice.

Team player being more agreeable to his peers has majority here as well.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

This Pie chart emphasizes that even though that the majority of the participants would prefer the Team
Player to work with or choose in the leadership position, 90.7% participants agree that the both personality
types are necessary for the growth of the organization while 4.7% are neutral and 4.7% disagree.

Research limitations
The research limitations are as follows:

 The research being a study of the perception of the working professionals cannot be adjudged as
the reality. Though it might be argued that the reality usually doesn’t fall far from the perception.
 Given that the time available for the submission of report was limited, the no of participants (43)
is relatively low than what we would have hoped for (around 50-60) and falls fairly short of it.
Getting more responses might alter the results of the survey by a fair bit.
 It is not an extensive study and is without interaction with the participants of the survey. Also, a
majority of the participants considering themselves as Team Players there might be a bit of bias.
We would have wanted an even balance in the Team players and Lone Wolf personalities so that
the interpreted results can be said to be without a bias.

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 The lone wolf versus the team player.

Practical Implications:
Managing a lone wolf employee can be incredibly frustrating; the entire team's performance may
suffer when one person refuses to chip in in a practical organization. Similarly, even a Team Player having
many benefits adding to the team could cause some drawbacks in the organization and our study touches
on the advantages and disadvantages of each one, and a manager can effectively study and assign the tasks.
Our study gives major insight on the perception of the working professionals and their opinions so a person
in either personality trait can create more opportunities for himself/herself by applying the positives of the
opposite personality trait and working on his/her own drawbacks to cultivate leadership qualities to advance
ahead in their careers at a faster pace than their colleagues. They can also gauge how their peers perceive
them and make the best of this perception or can work to change the way how they are perceived.

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