C12.M3 Leadership, Teamwork and Group Dynamics

Course description:

Have you ever worked in a team before? How did it go? Did you find out what makes a (good) team? Did everyone get along well, or was there too much conflict? Could conflict be a good thing? Were you happy with the outcome?

This course addresses social and organisational aspects of working in teams in research contexts. It provides an introduction into group dynamics and social psychology of teamwork, covering topics such as group development and maturity, creativity and idea generation in groups, conflict and trust. The course is based on current research on innovation teams and student-led interactive exercises on these topics. Topics covered in this course include:

• Advantages and challenges of research teams;
• Creativity in teams;
• Leadership and organising innovation;
• Gaining support for innovation;
• Diversity and how it affects work teams;
• Managing conflict and team building. 

Learning objectives:

By the end of the workshop/course you are expected to:

• be familiarized with the intricacies of group dynamics – how (efficient) teams are formed and sustained; how to perceive different behaviours that might assist or impede good team performance; how to analyse team processes;
• become aware of the state of the art of research and theories on group dynamics, and the implications for work teams;
• critically reflect on your role/impact within teams.  

Teaching method:

The course will involve background reading but also practical skills in managing group dynamics and facilitating mini-sessions. The course is set in a student-centred fashion. At the beginning, the workshop starts with a brief description of the whole group research contexts (i.e. the PhD student and their supervisory team, or the researcher and their colleagues, or the student and their research field). Afterwards, a couple of short presentations will be delivered on, for instance, an overview of group dynamics followed by a discussion on specific issues of work teams. The morning session will end with a forum of discussion based on the background reading, and also the preparation for an active learning session after lunch. For the remainder of the day, participants will be divided into teams of about 3/4 people, select a subtopic of their preference and actively set up and facilitate an interactive workshop mini-session. Background reading will be essential for a successful session, which will always culminate with discussion on the topic at hand as well as critical and constructive (peer and staff) feedback on the team presenting.

Course Enrolment

If you would like to enrol in this course, please fill out the "Course Enrolment Form" and e-mail this to graduateschool@remove-this.tudelft.nl. If you would like to take more than one course, please fill out one form per course. Enrolment forms stating more than one course will not be processed. 

About the Lecturer(s)/Coach(es)

Carlos is an Assistant Professor with the Design Theory and Methodology group at the Product Innovation Management Department, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. His research focus on creative problem solving during idea generation, with special emphasis on how designers search for inspiration and how the variety of stimuli around them influences their creative processes. He has a background in Industrial Design, and teaches topics such as Creating in Project Teams, Group Dynamics in Design, Design Theory, Creative Facilitation, etc. Before coming to the Netherlands, Carlos did his PhD and worked as a Research Associate at the Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge (UK); where his research focused on the development of design tools within the theme of user-centred design.

Ana Luz is a design researcher and educator. After graduating and lecturing in Portugal, Italy and the UK, Ana came to the Netherlands to finish her doctoral work at TU Delft, in a collaborative project between the Architecture and Industrial Design Engineering Faculties. As a result of her teaching and research activities in Design and Education, Ana has been working for the Delft Graduate School as a coordinator of the Doctoral Education Programme. She continues to work as a teacher/coach in several international ‘skills development’ programmes, and to explore new ways of ‘learning and teaching in higher education’.