Welcome back! In Part One and Part Two of this series, I focused on why teams fail.
Now, let’s discuss what you can do to prevent them from falling apart in the first place! Let’s face it – teams, boards, councils, clubs and commissions are made up of people. While that may seem to be a no-brainer, many of us assume groups are “cookie cutter” in composition and purpose.
Oh contraire! People join teams with an agenda – whether it’s constructive or destructive reveals itself over time – but we all have a personal reason for being there.
So the first step is to get into the hearts and minds of folks to probe for answers to these questions:
- Why are you here?
- What’s important about this task or organization?
- Why are you compelled to give up your free time to be here?
The second step is to bump that up against the stated mission, vision, goals or charter of the group. Make sure there is alignment. (Just like a teacher who asks students at the start of the semester, “Are you SURE you’re supposed to be in THIS class?”) Define why you’re all there.
The third step is to clarify what you all expect to achieve at the end of the day, the project, the term, etc. Make sure you quantify it so people have a good understanding of what those goals “look like”. Make them tangible and real. Have them answer this question: “We will know we are successful when we…”
The fourth step is to identify words and behaviors that could lead to destructive outcomes. We spend a lot of time defining mission, vision and values, but we make huge (HUGE!) assumptions about behaviors we will accept and those we shouldn’t. So, specifically list (with the aid of a skilled facilitator like me! Ha!) the red flags that should alert us we’re off track. They can be words that imply we are not all united or speaking with one voice. You shouldn’t hear statements like, “Well, THEY want us to do it THIS way.” The implication being, I do not agree, but THEY are forcing me to go along. You either speak with one voice, or you don’t speak at all! (I’ll do another article on that subject shortly.)
The fifth step is to pause occasionally and ensure everyone is still heading in the proper direction, given the goals, charter, mission, etc. It’s easy to get off course as we add new information, data, case studies and benchmarks to the pot. Before you know it, you wake up one day and realize you’ve moved too far from the reason you came together in the first place.
Teams, boards, councils and commissions are living organisms.
NOT so much like this:
But more like this:
They move and grow within boundaries set by the shoreline. They have a great deal of freedom within those limits.
And when the “season” is over, they fold up and sink back down into the mud.
(Just wanting to see if you’re paying attention!)
Now we’ll proceed to the next five! Teams struggle because they fail to…
6. Stop disrespectful behaviors as soon as they appear. Do not allow someone on the team to disrespect others OR to disrespect those who are not present! It weakens everyone’s credibility, causes hard feelings, and impacts performance and productivity. If you don’t call them on their behavior early on, you also allow a pattern to develop which may undermine effectiveness and get in the way of achieving your goals.
And you can do this in a gentle, humorous, yet pointed way. I once heard someone use this line, “Gosh Bill, she only has the nicest things to say about you!”
7. Form friendships. When Gallup Organization identified the 12 needs of top performers in their book, “First, Break All the Rules”, they found having a “best friend at work” was a factor that fueled high performing teams. While it doesn’t mean each team must be made up of one’s “best friends” in a literal sense, it does mean that teams made up of friends can spin circles around others. Think of it – most people hesitate to let a friend down. It can backfire if the friendships are dysfunctional, but the concept is what makes social media sites so successful. People work better with people they like. It’s simple human dynamics.
8. “Fire” the folks who refuse to “play”. We all know the people who sit back, arms crossed, and let everyone else do the work. They are there in body only, they don’t contribute, and they make it clear through their non-verbals that they can’t wait to get out of there and back to their “real” work. While this is not easy to do, it’s imperative that everyone support the goal. If the goal is clearly defined, then it’s up to each individual to decide whether or not they can support it. If not – then they should self select and get out of the way so the team can move forward. Now, this doesn’t mean we should interpret vigorous debate on issues where there is not consensus – I’m talking here about people who sit on boards or serve on teams just to get their names on a report or in the newspaper.
9. Give each other permission to start over. It’s okay to admit that something didn’t work as expected, but it’s not okay to hold it against the person who came up with the idea in the first place. Make it clear that mistakes are expected and are just another way to eliminate what won’t work in order to get to the successes. Cut each other some slack. Avoid being so judgmental that you risk embarrassment later on down the line when people discover that you too are human!
10. Appreciate how powerful they are! Highly functioning teams and boards are a powerful force when they learn how to leverage the knowledge, skills, relationships, and energy possessed by people with a single purpose. The momentum they bring to any problem, decision, or direction can be unstoppable and highly influential. The force of a tornado takes time to grow, but once it’s spinning, it is a formidable thing indeed!
In Part Three of this series, I’ll offer even more tips on how to strengthen a team, board, council or club, so please don’t miss it!
Why do teams fail?
Ahhh, let me count the ways! Teams fail every day, despite all the team building programs they attend. They fail despite the increased emphasis on the concept. They fail even though they KNOW collaboration is the best way to increase effectiveness and achieve worthy goals.
And here’s The BIG Secret – why they fail has more to do with how they treat each other more than anything you will do or not do!
But regardless of whether you’re a supervisor, business owner, executive director or council chair, your commitment to create an environment of teamwork and collaboration is crucial. If they see it’s important to you, regardless of how unwilling or untrained they are at first, they will make the effort to make it work.
And if YOU know in advance why folks fail, you can “head ‘em off at the pass” and require norms of behavior that lead to success.
Teams fail because members fail to…
1. Thank each other. Some believe mistakenly that recognition is only the leader’s job and don’t realize that peer appreciation usually means more to folks. Why? Because people know that leaders go to leadership classes that teach they how to do and say the right things. Depending on the level of trust in the relationship, they may be very skeptical of appreciation they feel is insincere. Yet when it comes from someone with whom you work side by side, and there’s no inference of obligation, peer “thank you’s” mean a lot. Encourage them not to be stingy with their appreciation of one another.
2. See the value in one another’s roles. They fail to recognize that it’s important to have a creative “idea person” on the team, a reliable “executor” and a strong “promoter” to move ideas forward. Yet often, the idea person gets offended when someone questions the practicalities of their concepts, or the executor gets frustrated when plans have to go back to the drawing board. We need all roles to be as effective as possible. The teams I work with who have the most trouble are those that are significantly lopsided. They may get along, but they don’t get things done.
3. Identify one another’s strengths. At the beginning of each project, team members should take the time to discuss, “here’s what I’m good at” or “here’s where my strengths lie”. If you were a member of a sculling team (rowing) or any other sport, wouldn’t the coach want to know who was left-handed and who was right-handed? They’d adjust the way they placed people on the team according to that trait, right? It’s the same concept on any work team, board or council. Established teams know one another well enough that they choose tasks according to talent and strengths. But a newly formed team doesn’t have that knowledge or experience of one another just yet. That type of discussion will help them put the best “faces” in the most effective “places” so they can use their resources wisely.
4. Practice diversity vs cloning. Teams tend to want to clone themselves and invite participants in who are “just like me”. They often fail to appreciate that someone with a radically different approach may bring a perspective that makes the team smarter and stronger. Too often, we shut out those who rock the boat, ask too many questions and push back on the status quo. We perceive them as trouble-makers because they don’t always go along to get along. Perhaps their approach is not as smooth or sophisticated as we would like. Not everyone went to professional charm school and some people have physiological issues that make it difficult for them to interact socially like others do. That doesn’t mean their ideas aren’t worthwhile. As a team, we may benefit more from someone like that than someone who sits quietly in the corner and agrees with everything that’s said.
5. Recognize the power of the informal leader. There are those who command a great deal of respect and informal authority. It’s because of who they are vs what position, rank or office they hold. These are the folks who can influence others and get things done in ways that most cannot. They have what’s called “referent” power. People pay attention to what they say. It’s due to their character, reputation, they way they carry themselves and often, due to the relationships they’ve formed with folks along the way. These are the influencers and it’s best that teams know who they are and choose to work with them vs against them if the team really wants to get things done.
In Part Two on this topic, I’ll cover the five remaining reasons why teams fail.
In Part Three, I’ll share tips on what to do first if you’re forming a new team or want to take an existing team to a higher level of effectiveness.
They move and grow within boundaries set by the shoreline. They have a great deal of freedom within those limits.
