The psychology of teams is quite interesting - especially the formation of teams. There is a model we refer to, as proposed by Bruce Tuckman* in 1965, that says a group's development goes through four (at least) phases - forming, storming, norming and performing. It's quite interesting reading: especially the storming phase where the group's members start to work with each other to learn about their individual working styles and what it's like to work with each other. There can be disagreements and personality clashes in the storming phase and their duration and intensity can vary. Tolerance of each team member and their differences is important because without this, the team will fail. This doesn't mean team members won't be able to hold differing opinions, they can - as long as the dissent is channelled through means acceptable to the team.
In 1977, Tuckman, together with Mary Ann Jensen, added a fifth stage - adjourning - for when the team has completed what it was formed to do and breaks up.
I believe our Trivia team is still in the storming/forming phases. we're still feeling our way in terms of trusting each others' answers and special subject areas.
I'm still reading up on group dynamics - looking for pointers.
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