Like compound interest for a team except it's bad

“Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world.” Albert Einstein

You've heard of this before. If you can consistently invest your money over an extended period, then you can receive interest on your interest.

Compounding your returns.

Well, the idea of compounding returns works in both positive and negative ways.

In fact, the full quote from Albert Einstein (supposedly) goes

“Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.”

In teams, we often accrue interest on destructive behaviours and patterns.

One such pattern is something I call Concession Syndrome.

It’s when teams make concession after concession such as excusing deficient performance, allowing mistakes to slide, and ignoring a teammate’s toxic attitude.

Each concession compounding the one before it.

And one day, you realise that your team has lost all discipline, focus, and commitment.

How do we go about fixing this?

Well, it starts with the team calling out concessions that are being made and rededicating themselves to excellence.

But for more on that, make sure to check out next week's edition of Build Better Teams.

Erik//

PS – Want some help with your team? We offer specialised team coaching and workshops?to help teams excel.