One of the forms that work teams can take is that of a multidisciplinary team, which is defined as a team made up of professionals from different disciplines. different academic and professional backgrounds. This type of team has certain advantages over more traditional teams (made up of professionals from the same field of work). However, they also present certain difficulties of their own, so it is important to know how to manage them correctly.
As the name suggests, a multidisciplinary team is a type of A work team made up of professionals from different disciplines.. This way, you can find people on the same team who have very different academic careers and work experiences. These types of teams are designed to bring a greater perspective to the work process, as, even though the members come from different professional spheres, they all work together to solve a specific problem together. In other words, despite the differences, they have a common project, which is what constitutes the reason for the team in question's existence.
A priori, it is considered that multidisciplinary teams have more advantages than disadvantages, so, in many cases, the creation of these types of work teams is specifically sought for certain determined projects. Some of the most important advantages that are usually associated with these types of work teams are the following:
Logically, the first advantage a multidisciplinary team brings is that it has a broader perspective than unidisciplinary teams. Each person who makes up the multidisciplinary team has their own distinct perspective compared to the rest of the team, which, by working together, can contribute to problem-solving. In this way, by having a broader collective perspective, you also have a greater resolution capacity.
With professionals from different fields, the various tasks can be distributed according to each person's training, which leads to greater performance from each individual in the group and, consequently, provides a much more efficient workflow in all senses of the word.
This is another of the advantages often associated with multidisciplinary teams. By having professionals from different fields, monitoring is carried out jointly as a result of the greater autonomy that each professional has in their specific area. That is to say, although there are individual work areas, these plots must move forward to be on a par with the rest, without these others being able to be stopped by the delays of other team members, since each of them is responsible for their own area.
However, despite the fact that in general, it can be considered that the multidisciplinary teams work better and provide more advantages than unidisciplinary teams, it must also be taken into account that they present their own disadvantages, which it is important to know how to interact with on a daily basis. Some of the most relevant disadvantages of this type of team are the following:
As a multidisciplinary team has very distinct work packages, it is common for members to compare their own work with that of their colleagues. While this can motivate the individual to improve in their own area, it can also be source of frustration and conflict, both on a personal level and within the team itself.
On the other hand, multidisciplinary teams can lead to episodes of high competitiveness as a result of the fact that some members try to give greater value to their sector or discipline than to the rest. As a result, it is fundamental to have well-defined procedures, as well as an authority within the group that allows for the corresponding value and importance to be attributed to each contribution within the team.
Finally, another of the disadvantages that a multidisciplinary team can present is that, by fostering greater communication within the team itself, the relationships evolve to a term that is closer to personal than professional. When this happens, it's important to manage it correctly, as otherwise it could compromise the success of the project, as well as the internal processes of each of its tasks.
As can be seen, although a multidisciplinary team has many advantages, it also involves certain inherent characteristics that must be managed. In this way, managing a multidisciplinary team can be more complex than managing a unidisciplinary one. Some of the most useful tips for its management are the following:
First of all, it is essential that multidisciplinary teams have a leader or authority that it is the reference person when managing them. This way, their judgement will be the qualified voice when it comes to resolving problems or discrepancies that may arise.
On the other hand, it is also fundamental that all team members are clear about the joint project objectives and the team's work, as well as their own objectives within it, which should always be subject to the final objectives of the project as a whole.
As mentioned above, one of the drawbacks of this type of work equipment is that it is particularly favourable to the development of sympathies within it. In this way, one of the aspects that can best help to manage them is to correctly define the work environment in order to differentiate it from other areas. In this way, it will be perfectly differentiated the function to be performed during working hours of those that can be carried out outside of working hours, even in cases where friendships arise within the multidisciplinary team itself.
