Running head: TEAM DYNAMICS 1

Team Dynamics: Individual Differences Effects on Group Performance & Success

Cyanna Larissa Cano

South Texas College

ORGL-3311-VF2: Issues Organization Leadership

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Abstract

This paper will discuss the individual differences of team members as it correlates to the team

dynamic and overall success of the team. The concepts of diverse personalities, culture, skills as

well as the knowledge each individual person presents will be taken into consideration when

studying how they affect a group’s performance. This paper provides case studies concerning the

topic at hand as a way to develop and research the hypothesis.

Keywords: individual difference, group dynamics, personality, heterogenous,

homogeneous, team
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Team Dynamics: Individual Differences Effects on Group Performance & Success

Building out and growing an efficient team that can perform well and successfully

complete their tasks is a strenuous assignment. Although the idea of finding “the perfect

candidate” seems like the tough part of it all; however, the real concern is once a team is in

place, to what extent will their individual personas and beliefs allow them to interact and

cooperate with their peers. The idea of individual differences within an organization, on the

surface level, can be perceived as a problematic and an unwanted concern when compared to

developing a team of like-minded individuals. Nevertheless, the benefits that a diverse group of

individuals bring to a team allow for better performance considering how they can balance one

another out and provide distinct information that arises out of their own experiences and ideas.

Individual differences and how they relate to group performance is a concept that has been

touched on many times in business and psychology. From the Myers Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI) that determines a person’s personality type to psychologist Geert Hofstede’s cultural

dimensions; these tests not only measure each person’s internal and social behaviors, but provide

insight into how those individual differences can work together to efficiently complete a job. In

general, the hypothesis of this paper is that H1 greater diversity within a team/group results in a

more efficient and successful team. Introducing individuals with different personalities and

cultures can lead to success when taking into consideration the unique perspectives and

experiences brought by everyone. Therefore, this paper will include examples and studies

surrounding this hypothesis and will present results based on their own test.

Literature Review

Personality Effects on Group Performance

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The authors Bombardelli, Cuel, and Savadori (2021) recognize that “deep level factors”

such as personality are capable of affecting team performance compared to attributes such as age

and gender. The case study they present utilizes the specific personality trait of

‘conscientiousness’ —one of the ‘Big 5’ personality groups used by psychologists—as the test to

determine how it affects group performance. This trait was specifically chosen because the

writers believed that conscientiousness is most related to job performance.

The study pits 3 groups of homogenous low conscientiousness, homogenous high

conscientiousness, and heterogeneous high and low participants that need to work together to

find a solution to a problem. The results of Bombardelli et al. (2021) concluded that the

heterogeneous team (i.e. the more personality diverse team) performed better the homogenous

low conscientiousness team; however, the homogenous high conscientiousness team scored

higher than the two other teams. Realistically, the study itself seeked to measure the correlation

between high conscientiousness and job performance. The writers were able to conclude that

teams composed of high conscientious individuals were able to perform more efficient and

innovative work. Despite it, the results of the test both provide evidence and fault in how diverse

individuals lead to better job performance. In comparison to the low homogenous group, the

heterogeneous team has better job performance, but falls short to the homogenous high.

Regardless, if the test was designed specifically for the conscientiousness personality trait, this

study presents a relation between diversity of individuals and their performance as a team.

Success as a Group

Ivar Kolstad et al. (2017) provides a different perspective on what makes a group

successful by presenting a study that focuses on how group diversity affects a team’s ability to

stick together or fall apart. In other words, does a diverse team allow teams to successfully stay
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together rather than successfully complete tasks? Their test determines a group's survival rate

and probability of exit or disbandment from their group. They tested heterogeneous and

homogeneous groups of people based on religion, income, inequality, etc.

Kolstad’s et al. (2017) results showed that heterogenous diverse groups had a larger

dropout rate than those that were homogeneous. Through utilization of diverse cultural

differences, their findings suggest that their individual traits prohibit them from surviving as a

group, and that the more homogeneous team are more likely to stick together. Group likeness

within a team allows for a team to be successful.

Diversity of Skill & Experience

In the study by Koopmans et al. (2018), the problem presented was that the growing

number of old people with need of complex care was not being met by the current teams of

nurses due to lack of diverse expertise and skills. The test hypothesized a solution that by

allowing the staff to learn about and explore whatever skills of their choosing, and in turn create

a diversely knowledgeable team, they can ultimately perform more efficiently towards the needs

of the elderly.

The test ran for approximately 22 months, and in that time the employees were able to

develop a diverse set of skills that allowed them to perform their jobs more effectively and with

more care. The test highlighted that by the end of it, not only did job performance improve, but

so did the quality of life and retention for job satisfaction. An example provided by the case

study stated that as a result of the improvements towards diverse staff and skills, communication

also improved and it positively affected the rate in which the staff can catch deteriorating health

of clients earlier.
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An aspect that could have improved this study was having an additional team acting as a

null variable that did not attempt to diversify their skills. On the contrary, the proof that there

was a positive effect lies in the before and after results of client satisfaction, employee happiness,

communication across departments, etc.

Team Cohesion

Action et al. (2020) case study examines team cohesion and its connection to team

effectiveness. They tested the social cohesion between individuals through a multiplayer video

game that had them work together to complete a task. Although the teams are completing a

physical task, the type of success that is being searched for in these studies is whether team

cohesion will successfully happen and how fast.

Each person was identified by specific personality types and overall the test provided a

multitude of results as it identified the rate of cohesion across both homogeneous and

heterogeneous groups of each of the Big 5 personality groups. The results show that the cohesion

happened at different rates depending on the type of personality and amount of diversity, but

overall, the more homogeneous personality types had a higher and faster chance of cohesion,

specifically when dealing with extraversion.

Findings

The purpose of this paper was to test the initial hypothesis that greater diversity within a

group will ultimately lead to group effectiveness and success. Unfortunately, despite the

evidence that heterogeneity within a group does have an effect on group performance, a majority

of the case studies highlighted concluded that more homogenous personalities and cultures can

ultimately lead to team success more efficiently than those that are diverse. When looking

through Bombardelli et al. (2021) and Ivar Kolstad et al. (2017) specifically, it is shown that the
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groups that are more similar have a higher chance of success when it comes to personality and

cultural attributes, respectively. Koopmans et al. (2018) did emphasize that there was a positive

effect when diversity was introduced to the workplace; however, the aspects that were diverse

were concrete and technical skills that in retrospect are more obvious results in support for

diversity than measuring innate theories and interpersonal backgrounds. Regardless, a common

thread found within these sources recognize that all in all, heterogeneity of team members can be

a positive attribute due to the reasons that by including individuals, each with their own set of

differences, they can work as a means of balancing one another’s personalities and beliefs, and

provide freshly diverse perspectives and experiences. In the final analysis and based on the

findings, their hypothesis that greater diversity leads to better team performance is incorrect.

Conclusion

When it comes to team building, considering the individual differences each member of

the team possess is essential as it can ultimately reflect not just the team's performance, but the

performance of the company, project, or any other larger aspect. There may be times when it is

more suitable to include like-minded individuals as they can uniformly stay on the same page

and complete the job. On the other hand, keeping the benefits that a diverse team of people can

provide in the grand scheme of things is a risk that many organizations are willing to take in

order to stay innovative and new. Despite the findings as it relates to the hypothesis, testing

group dynamics should continue to happen because there are so many variables that can affect

the success of the team. Group likeness will undoubtedly provide some form of success because

their skills, personalities, and experiences will add up to it. However, a diverse team with diverse

qualities and insights can potentially conjure up unthinkable innovations that can far exceed any

sort of likeness.
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References

Acton, B. P., Braun, M. T., & Foti, R. J. (2020). Built for unity: assessing the impact of

team composition on team cohesion trajectories. Journal of Business & Psychology,

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Alex Forsythe. (2019). Key Thinkers in Individual Differences : Ideas on Personality and

Intelligence. Routledge.

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Koopmans, L., Damen, N., & Wagner, C. (2018). Does diverse staff and skill mix of

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