If you're responsible for team management, you should get familiar with the term "social loafing".

Instead of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, social loafing is when people exert LESS energy in the group to achieve a goal than they would on their own.

This is why team dynamics are so important.

If people in the group feel their efforts will go unnoticed or, worse, that someone else will get credit, you can expect social loafing.

If they feel that slackers in the group don't get punished and reap the same rewards, you can expect social loafing.

I like Dan Rothwell's Three C's of motivation to help with group dynamics:

1. Collaboration—get everyone involved, personally and emotionally

2. Content—make sure everyone knows their purpose and how it is vital to the team

3. Choice—have team members opt in and have a say in which tasks they perform

You may not be able to completely overcome social loafing, but you can do a lot to help ensure your teams know why they exist, why every member is on that team and what is expected of them. Set lofty goals, identify individual efforts, and watch for individual buy-in.