Why even the best teams struggle to work together?

I recently had the opportunity to start a really cool conversation about what teams do to achieve great results.

We talked about why even the best teams struggle to work together and some actionable strategies to achieve important goals.

The book, "The 5 Dysfunctions of Teams", describes a model represented by a 5-layer pyramid to show how dysfunction in one layer leads to another, resulting in a negative environment and an underperforming team.

Some thoughts that emerged from our discussion:

• It is important to recognize the potential of the team and make them understand that these dysfunctions exist.
• Trust can't be achieved overnight. Create an environment that rewards vulnerability, instead of punishing it.
• Make it clear that the team should not fear conflicts for the purpose of refining and improving solutions.
• Great teams ensure that everyone’s ideas are genuinely considered.
• Make it clear to everyone what the team must achieve, who has to do what, and how everyone must behave to be successful.
• The focus should be on collective results. No matter how good an individual performs on the team, if the team loses, everyone loses.

What can you do? Ask your team these questions:

• Do team members openly disclose their opinions?
• Are team meetings compelling and productive?
• Does the team come to decisions quickly and avoid the conflict?
• Do team members confront one another about their shortcomings?
• Do team members sacrifice their own interests for the good of the team?

Well,?I’m convinced that teamwork is an important competitive advantage of successful organizations, and any team who learns how to avoid these dysfunctions will be amazing at what they do and will discover how to work better with others.

Any thoughts? Share with us.

References:

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
• The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
• The power of vulnerability | Brené Brown
• Leaders Eat Last