A Dysfunctional Team Is Normal
Did you know? A dysfunctional team is normal.
As a team leader or entrepreneur, it's really important you understand
that just because you pull a group of qualified people together and
assign them a common goal does not mean that great teamwork will
automatically happen.
Quite the contrary, great teamwork does not just happen.
Think of your team as similar to that of a family. What do you already
know about families?
They are not perfect. Some are quite dysfunctional. We didn't pick our
genetic families and in the work world we don't always get to choose our
team. Often the team you lead already exists or is pulled together based
on availability and expertise.
It's quite common for a team to be dysfunctional. What is not common
is when a team remains dysfunctional over time.
Chances are, you already know if you have a dysfunctional team.
For those who aren't sure, here's a short list of six tell tale signs:
1. Low morale
2. Your team is not proactive.
3. Misunderstandings with employee communication
4. Personal conflict
5. Unmotivated employees or unsupportive team
6. Your team does not resolve problems without management's
intervention.
There are also situations when dysfunction happens to teams that
have performed well in the past. Reasons a poorly performing
team can include:
1. New team members
2. Mixed levels of age and experience
3. New or inexperienced team leaders
4. Job descriptions, goals, or leaders have changed
If you find yourself bogged down with people related issues you prefer
not to deal with, you will keep getting bogged down until you start to
deal with it by putting a Team System in place.
What's a team system?
A Team System is a framework for great performance, motivation, and a
foundation for any changes you want to make with your people. You
should be consistently working on building a Team System within your
department or business.
There are many core components of a Team System and each differ
somewhat from team to team, although I would like to share what I think
is one of the most important ones in the bunch. One of the core
components you absolutely need to set up are team norms.
What are team norms?
You and your team need to decide how they will interact or structure
their work. Formal and informal expectations should be set up on how
the team will behave and work together.
Let's look at some examples of when norms are needed:
What's the norm on how to deal with an unmotivated employee?
What's the norm for when someone is new to the team?
What's the norm for communicating on a new project or for working
cross functionally with another team?
My suggestion:
It can be a long road to getting the right norms in place, but it is well
worth the effort. The payoff is high productivity and less stress for you.
Why not make team motivation automatic? A motivated team is your
first step toward improving performance and morale.
Your team needs to move from dysfunction to high function in order to
reach their goals and the right team norms are a core element you need
to get right before you can expect results.
Next, review our coaching options.
About the author:
Diana Keith, people strategist and business psychologist, works with
leaders and their teams to increase innovation, morale, and
productivity. See her website http://www.mlevelsystems.com to get
your free people strategy guide for success.
Copyright © Diana Keith, M-Level Systems Inc.
Did you know? A dysfunctional team is normal.
As a team leader or entrepreneur, it's really important you understand
that just because you pull a group of qualified people together and
assign them a common goal does not mean that great teamwork will
automatically happen.
Quite the contrary, great teamwork does not just happen.
Think of your team as similar to that of a family. What do you already
know about families?
They are not perfect. Some are quite dysfunctional. We didn't pick our
genetic families and in the work world we don't always get to choose our
team. Often the team you lead already exists or is pulled together based
on availability and expertise.
It's quite common for a team to be dysfunctional. What is not common
is when a team remains dysfunctional over time.
Chances are, you already know if you have a dysfunctional team.
For those who aren't sure, here's a short list of six tell tale signs:
1. Low morale
2. Your team is not proactive.
3. Misunderstandings with employee communication
4. Personal conflict
5. Unmotivated employees or unsupportive team
6. Your team does not resolve problems without management's
intervention.
There are also situations when dysfunction happens to teams that
have performed well in the past. Reasons a poorly performing
team can include:
1. New team members
2. Mixed levels of age and experience
3. New or inexperienced team leaders
4. Job descriptions, goals, or leaders have changed
If you find yourself bogged down with people related issues you prefer
not to deal with, you will keep getting bogged down until you start to
deal with it by putting a Team System in place.
What's a team system?
A Team System is a framework for great performance, motivation, and a
foundation for any changes you want to make with your people. You
should be consistently working on building a Team System within your
department or business.
There are many core components of a Team System and each differ
somewhat from team to team, although I would like to share what I think
is one of the most important ones in the bunch. One of the core
components you absolutely need to set up are team norms.
What are team norms?
You and your team need to decide how they will interact or structure
their work. Formal and informal expectations should be set up on how
the team will behave and work together.
Let's look at some examples of when norms are needed:
What's the norm on how to deal with an unmotivated employee?
What's the norm for when someone is new to the team?
What's the norm for communicating on a new project or for working
cross functionally with another team?
My suggestion:
It can be a long road to getting the right norms in place, but it is well
worth the effort. The payoff is high productivity and less stress for you.
Why not make team motivation automatic? A motivated team is your
first step toward improving performance and morale.
Your team needs to move from dysfunction to high function in order to
reach their goals and the right team norms are a core element you need
to get right before you can expect results.
Next, review our coaching options.
About the author:
Diana Keith, people strategist and business psychologist, works with
leaders and their teams to increase innovation, morale, and
productivity. See her website http://www.mlevelsystems.com to get
your free people strategy guide for success.
Copyright © Diana Keith, M-Level Systems Inc.
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561-702-4716
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Article
You can motivate your team
Dysfunctional teams can be motivated
You can motivate your team
Dysfunctional teams can be motivated