When teams work well together the results can be remarkable, with different strengths combining to make the team’s power far greater than the sum of its parts. If, however, cracks appear the results can be less than perfect. So what it is that causes problems within teams and how can you avoid them. Here’s a quick summary – are there any that you can identify as occurring in your organisation?
Unclear allocation of roles
This can lead to two potential problems – either roles overlap which will inevitably cause conflict, or gaps appear because some roles aren’t allocated to anyone. The best thing to do is create clear role outlines for everyone and make sure they are shared with the group as a whole so everyone has the full picture regarding who should be doing what.
Lack of purpose
Knowing what the team is working towards is important if you want everyone to feel connected and stay motivated. Staying focused on the end goal is vital for success so check in often to make sure that everyone has that in sight.
The blame game
If one person constantly sees fit to blame others for failures or take undue credit when things go well it can have a negative effect on the whole team’s morale. It’s important to spot this behaviour before it takes hold and try to start any review process with what went right and not what went wrong.
Trust issues
Although trust is central to the success of any team it can be tricky to instilli through work related projects, particularly if teams work remotely. Instead it can make sense to give team members the chance to interact socially in order to cultivate meaningful relationships that go beyond work..
Lack of self-awareness
Hard as it might be to believe, Harvard Business Review discovered that while 95% of people believe they’re self-aware, the real figure is closer to 10 – 15%. Alarmingly, a lack of self-awareness in even one team member can lower a team’s chance of success by as much as 50% as it causes stress and a lack of motivation amongst other team members, often resulting in high turnover of staff.
Of course, there are many other things that can cause conflict and reduce productivity within teams including poor communication, poor management, and a lack of engagement, amongst others. But effective team coaching will help to turn things around as you all literally work as a team to make your team work better.
Want to find out more? Drop me a line and I’ll be delighted to set up a call.
