Five Steps to Realign a Dysfunctional Team
When teams start falling apart, it’s seldom a single issue or event that is the root cause. Teams decline into dysfunction over time. It’s like a rot or sickness that starts to permeate the fabric of the team culture. The reasons for this dysfunctional rot setting in tend to occur because the individuals and leaders on the team are so “busy” that they didn’t notice the faults and cracks that started to occur until it became “too late.”
Dysfunctional teams cost a lot to everyone involved. Dysfunction costs emotional energy, resources, time, and productivity. Being a part of a dysfunctional team is not a fun experience. It can and will become taxing to the overall joy that one can feel towards the business, one’s work and towards other co-workers.?
What are some of the signs of a dysfunctional team?
First and foremost is a general lack of trust amongst team members. There is a suspicion, and a wariness around people’s motivations. People are on high alert, and may become guarded in their approach, unwilling to share and becoming overly protective of their work.
Dysfunctional teams also tend to spread a lot of blame. Finding a scapegoat, and casting error and fault on others around them is a regular part of a dysfunctional team’s way of communicating. Personal attacks, contempt or blaming a group of individuals for the team’s woes becomes commonplace.?
"We often promote and develop leaders because they were excellent at their original job. Then we put them in charge of people, and hope they know what they are doing."
Then there’s the lack of accountability. Teams that have come off the tracks will defer responsibility and accountability for failures (and even the wins get tossed around with blame and jealousy believe it or not!). It’s always “the other” or some form of external force that is held to task, and the team and leaders won’t take it on themselves to find solutions or address problems.
When these negative team culture philosophies and behaviors become the norm, communication breaks down, in-fighting increases, and a lack of cooperation and collaboration sets in. Now it’s every person for themselves and it’s a me versus them mentality.?
None of this is good. So how do you fix this? The simplest way is to prevent it before it becomes “the way things are” but let’s assume that the team leaders missed the early markers and the team dynamics are unraveling. Here’s five steps to get the team pointed back in the right direction.
Teams live and die on the quality of their leaders. Jocko Willink, ex Navy Seal and owner of Echelon Front says, “No bad teams. Just bad leaders.” If you want a team to climb out of the doldrums, you have to get your leadership team learning and growing. We often promote and develop leaders because they were excellent at their original job. Then we put them in charge of people, and hope they know what they are doing. Leadership is not natural to everyone. That doesn’t mean they can’t lead, and the best leaders are constantly being developed.?
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2. Explore the Teams’ Strengths
Teams that have signs of dysfunction need to learn what they are good at. This means strength finding, both on an individual level and as a team on the whole. A negative focus on weakness versus strengths can debilitate a team’s ability to perform because there’s a lack of awareness on what the team is actually capable of doing. Going back and historically looking at where the team did well, and putting a spotlight on which individuals amongst the team displayed strong qualities that can be highlighted as strengths, is vital to rebuilding a team that has lost its way.
3. Have Regular One on Ones
Now that the leaders are growing into stronger versions of themselves (step 1), and the team is starting to define its strengths (step 2), then the leadership can start holding one on ones with the individuals on the team. These one on ones will become core relationship builders for their direct reports, and the individual contributors on the team. With proper one on ones, the team members will begin to have a voice, feel heard, and give and receive feedback. This will become easier over time as the level of understanding about each other increases, leading to respect and empathy.
How can you develop accountability when no one is getting along?
4. Establish Positive Communication Habits
How we talk to each other, the agreed upon rules about those interactions and the follow through that occurs becomes the ambient temperature of the team. There is a balance here, and it requires openness, transparency and respect. False harmony is just as bad as overt hostility. Developing communication skills, both in person and over email, memos and official documents has to have a consistency and intent that permeates the culture of the team.
5. Introduce Accountability
Business teams jump to this step too quickly. They expect accountability and buy in too soon. How can you develop accountability when no one is getting along? This step is the last of the 5 steps for a reason. Accountability will happen and can be enforced when the foundation of the previous groundwork is developed and implemented. In my business coaching, accountability is the third part of the Trinity of Leadership model and will have a lasting impact on the long term development of the team. Keep in mind that if the team is still suffering internal strife, overly enforcing accountability will have the opposite effect and must be introduced in tandem with the other steps above.
Edwyn Kumar is the Founder and CEO of Ultra Team Development. As a Business Leadership Coach, he develops individuals and leaders who inspire, connect, and manage with empathy.
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