Creating a climate for teamwork

Although professional communicators can justly take pride in effective design and packaging of communication products, often we fail to realize the design of our own interpersonal communication. With the best intention in the world, we frequently create a defensive climate for one-on-one communication. A defensive climate stifles the communication process: team members tend to withdraw rather than risk sharing their ideas. On the other hand, a supportive climate encourages openness and the exchange of ideas with a feeling of trust. According to Jack Gibb (1961), communication climate appears as a continuum from defensive to supportive. By understanding the six dichotomies that make up this continuum the communicator can develop a climate for effective teamwork, whether among members of a writing group or between writers and subject experts. The paper begins by examining the tension between self-image and teamwork, supportive vs defensive climates in the writing process, and implications for business and industry