It is important to note that team effectiveness and teamwork are determined by a wide range of critical factors, which include leadership, communication, groupthink, homogeneity, and team size. The latter factor can be considered as the least influential one because team size and effectiveness cannot be universally identified since certain tasks might require larger groups, whereas others need smaller ones. One of the main factors that affect team effectiveness is leadership because every team needs a leader who can set trajectories, directions, and objectives. The lack of proper leadership can create non-cohesiveness within the team, which inevitably results in disorientation and chaos. In addition, it is important to indicate that leadership style also needs to match the selected situation and environment since some approaches might be more effective than others. For example, in governmental settings, where clear rules and processes are set, authoritarian leadership might be more plausible than a democratic one.
Moreover, one needs to be aware that communication is also critical for ensuring team effectiveness. A team might have resources and leadership, but the absence of proper communication channels can severely hinder the capability of each member to cooperate. For example, the pandemic and lockdown might require strict use of online communication channels, which means that the exchange of information can be limited in regard to face-to-face and non-verbal communication. Groupthink is a term used for suppression of opposing perspectives, which can decrease the diversity of thoughts and ideas in the team resulting in an ineffective one. Similarly, homogeneity is determined by the team member similarity, where highly homogenous teams might lack diversity, and thus, result in a team with narrowed approaches.