Exploring temporal patterns of trust and conflict in teams

In this chapter, we explore the temporal nature of conflict and trust in teams. Although researchers have acknowledged the dynamic nature of team processes and team interpersonal relationships, empirical research on these topics has typically used cross-sectional designs. Using a longitudinal approach with six measurement points over a period of ten months, we collected data on conflict and trust in 41 organizational teams. Our results show that more than half of the teams entered a negative spiral of increasing conflict and decreasing trust. An expected positive spiral with increased trust and decreased conflict was not found: the other half of the teams showed a stable pattern of high trust and low conflict over time. Teams in the negative spiral were less effective than teams with the stable pattern.