Your managers can bring the most intelligent, creative people to their departments, but if the employees aren't able to work as a team, the department's productivity will suffer.
If your supervisors' teams aren't firing on all cylinders, it's important to identify the reasons why … and what they can do to overcome the dysfunction.
The 5 big causes
Many teams don't work well for one reason: "Because they are made up of human beings with varied interests and frailties," says Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. "When you put them together and leave them to their own devices, even the most well-intentioned people will usually deviate towards dysfunctional, unproductive behavior."
As a result, small problems left untreated can spiral into ugliness.
Everyone wants to be part of a team, but how do you really make that happen?
Our brand-new webinar explores the differences between group and team.
Here are the five major causes of team dysfunction that managers must routinely contend with, according to Lencioni, and the strategies to successfully overcome each one:
Dysfunction #1: Absence of trust
This occurs when team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another and are unwilling to admit their mistakes or need for help. Without a certain comfort level among team members, trust is impossible.
Manager's role: Be vulnerable.
- Identify and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Openly accept that a team member might be more skilled in a particular area than them.
- Spend considerable time in face-to-face meetings and working sessions. The goal is to get team members to open themselves up.
Dysfunction #2: Fear of conflict
Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate about key issues. This causes situations in which team conflict can easily result in veiled discussions and back channel comments. In a setting where team members don't openly air their opinions, inferior decisions are the result.
Manager's role: Demand debate.
- Acknowledge that conflict is required for productive meetings. Stress that conflict must be up front instead of underlying and underground.
- Establish common ground rules for engaging in conflict.
- Understand individual team member's natural conflict styles.
Everything you do, say or think is either supporting you in creating more group or elevating you into experiencing TEAM.
What if Group and TEAM are your only two options? - How would you behave differently?
- What types of behavior would have to shift in order to experience TEAM?
- How would you participate differently to initiate and create TEAM?
Register now for this informative webinar.
Dysfunction #3: Lack of commitment
Without conflict, it is difficult for team members to commit to decisions. This creates an environment where ambiguity prevails. Lack of direction and commitment can make employees, particularly star employees, disgruntled.
Manager's role: Force clarity and closure.
- Review commitments at the end of each meeting to ensure all team members are aligned.
- Adopt a "disagree and commit" mentality—make sure all team members are committed, regardless of initial disagreements.
Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of accountability
When teams don't commit to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven individuals hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that may seem counterproductive to the overall good of the team.
Manager's role: Confront difficult issues.
- Explicitly communicate goals and standards of behavior.
- Regularly discuss performance versus goals and standards.
Dysfunction #5: Inattention to results
Team members naturally tend to put their own needs (ego, career development, recognition, etc.) ahead of the collective team goals when individuals aren't held accountable. If a team has lost sight of the need for achievement, the business ultimately suffers.
Manager's role: Focus on collective outcomes.
- Keep the team focused on tangible group goals.
- Reward individuals based on team goals and collective success.
Join us on Wednesday, January 11, and we'll show you how What Makes a Great Team: How to Go From a Group to a TEAM breaks down in a way that is simple, actionable and accessible. TEAM isn't something that you have to wait to experience when the higher-ups finally "get it." TEAM is something generated from within each individual.
This webinar clearly demonstrates what it takes to earn the right to call yourself a "team." Through focusing on key leadership principles, communication techniques and team-building strategies, participants will build a stronger team orientation.
Of all organizational activities, team development was found to have the strongest effect out of various financial measures for improving organizational performance.
Stop the blame game, dismantle those microgroups and go from group to TEAM!
We want the individuals, and the group, who complete this webinar to have functional skills and practices to maintain a team orientation long after the webinar is complete. Register now!
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