Managing teams performing complex innovation projects

Complexity of projects is hotly debated and a factor which affects innovativeness of team performance. Much attention in the past is paid to technical complexity and many issues are related to natural and physical sciences. A growing awareness of the importance of socio-organisational issues is announced by researchers and consultants which is much less investigated. The failure of projects may be due partly to overlooking these issues. In this study within a single organization an exploratory framework was developed to research relations between group dynamics (team mindfulness, safety, learning and defensive behaviour, complexity of projects and the outcomes of team performance. Combining data from face-to-face interviews, a survey and a team observation lead to the recommendation that greater attention for group dynamics is beneficial for the output of project teams who are managing and executing complex innovative projects