What causes a team to unravel?
The Team Doc Says…
In my experience, at least 90% of the time the problem lies in communication. Not enough communication, communication through filters — you name it. But to have good communication in a team, you need to have an environment of trust, defined roles and responsibilities, team scope and boundaries, and operating principles.
Working in a team is tough. And the work never stops. A focus on team health should be a consistent activity. At least once a month your team should have a meeting that deals with team health issues only. No real business discussion should be allowed here, only discussion that includes how the team is functioning.
Best regards,
Denise O’Berry
aka ‘Team Doc’
About Denise O'Berry
I’d like to add that teams must be balanced. This means that you must have a conscious mix of those that bring the big picture to the overall objective and those that can keep the team on task. We see when working with teams that the ‘task driven’ side of the team often outweighs the ‘big picture’ thinkers. What happens is that the team is out of balance. The task driven team members are so focused on the immediate need to check it off the list that they often overlook opportunities that may exist given a broader look at the periphery. So ask yourself — who on the team looks at the big picture and who on the team likes to jump into action? Are you well balanced?