I would like to get the team to work better together, to resolve differences between members of the team, and get better support from team member to team member. I would also like some team building exercises and other tools to get the team thinking about how they inhibit or increase the productivity of the team. Thanks.

The Team Doc Says…

That’s a tall order you have ahead of you with this team.

You’ll need to address each issue one at a time and make sure it “sticks” before moving on to the next.

One of the first things you need to do is make sure that the team has worked through the key components of being an effective team. That means you’ll want to do a check in on mission, goals, roles and responsibilities, team operating guidelines and ground rules.

Make sure these components are in place and working effectively — you’ll be surprised that it may just resolve some of your other team building issues.

To address your specific issues — resolving differences and better team member support — here are some suggestions.

• Unresolved conflict in your team is not a good thing, but having differences of opinion helps keep a team healthy. Take a look at resolving team conflict if that is your issue.
• To get better team member support, each person should understand what other team members do and how their role integrates with others. You can read this tip on team member role clarity to help you out.