It has been observed that the teams which successfully fulfill the task and maintenance functions help their members a potential psychological intimacy and integrated involvement!
It should also be noted that some task function are more important at a particular time in a group life, while other function are important at a different juncture. If we think of a team that is beginning to work on an outsourced project, initially the role of the project lead would be to help draft the product specs and allocate work with need to distribute information, while as the project progresses, these change to a state where the project lead would do more of coordination than of initiation. It is also important to note that the effective use of task functions could lead to the success of the group and the failure to use them may lead to a disaster. Examples of these are many and wouldn’t need to be explained.
While the task functions could increase the tension into teams and groups working together, the maintenance functions play a crucial role in draining off these negative or destructive feelings. The humor, joking etc that is part of the work environment are ingredients of the maintenance functions.
It is clear that to build an effective group, both task and maintenance functions are important and only if both are well executed will it lead to the formation of a successful group or team.
