Why Some Teams Never Measure Up
By STEVE COATS |
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In our work, we frequently hear leaders talk
about the struggles they have with their teams. To some extent,
teams should struggle, since they are often working on some pretty
tough issues that seldom have easy answers.
There are several factors that are often identified as key reasons
why teams are unable to be productive. Think about teams of which
you have a part. What do you think these reasons might be?
In some cases, team members will disagree with or just plain not
like another’s point of view on a given subject. Although
that can create some feelings of discomfort or awkwardness, it
is rarely a source of complete dissonance among the team. In fact,
good teams promote a variety of perspectives, in order to examine
the issues at hand more fully.
At other times, the personality differences can get in the way,
and create a situation where certain members simply don’t
like some of the other members. Taken to extremes, this can indeed
be damaging. Strong or “strange” personalities can
be aggravating to deal with, but once again these irritations are
seldom the root cause of a team’s ongoing struggles.
Reason One: Poor Composition
I would like to offer a couple of issues that I most frequently
identify as being at the core of teams that are unable to fulfill
their expectations. You will likely have encountered these before.
The first is this. Team membership should be based on contribution,
not position. Too many in leadership positions have this principle
flip-flopped in their heads and structure their leadership team
based on a each member’s organization position. A number
of leadership teams with whom we have worked have been built this
way, with the team being comprised of the leader and his or her
direct reports. There is nothing wrong with that as long as everyone
is contributing and adding value to the team. But when people believe
they are entitled to either sit around in silence or chronically
complain because of where their name appears on the organization
chart, big trouble is inevitable.
In their functional job positions, people are expected to contribute
to the organization. In their leadership team positions, they must
also be expected to contribute to the team. One of the mistakes
team leaders most frequently make is the failure to make it clear
that team members are expected to add value and contribute to the
outcomes of the leadership team, as well as the company or business
unit. And if certain members have been made aware, yet continue
to neglect their obligation to contribute, the leader must be prepared
to take appropriate action, whether that might be coaching, developing,
or ultimately removing them from the team.
I remember reading about one senior executive, who had a front-line
worker on her team. Why do you suppose she did this? It was clearly
not for window dressing reasons, just to show how interested this
company was in all it’s workers by letting them attend senior
team meetings. It was because this guy brought to the table the
thoughts, opinions and suggestions of the people in the trenches.
He was able to help the team make better decisions. And he was
able to take uncluttered messages directly back to his peers, before
the political filters at each level kicked in. He was a valuable
contributor and earned the right to be on the team.
Reason Two: Unclear Purpose
The second reason for a struggling team often precedes the first.
It is that too many teams lack a clear purpose for why they exist
as a team. They do not know what they should contribute or how
they are supposed to add value to the organization, by working
together as a team.
There is a prevailing myth - that a given number of people meeting
together regularly must be a team. In reality, this is a more accurate
description of a group and might even apply to a mob. A team must
have a clear purpose, that is their own value proposition to the
rest of the organization. And of course, truly effective teams
must be staffed with the best people available to fulfill that
purpose.
I have observed companies with incredibly high expectations for
results. They are very intense and demanding cultures. Yet in some
of these, when the senior leadership team (which is structured
based on organizational positions) convenes, the majority of their
time is spent reporting what is happening in each of the functional
areas of the business. Their purpose, by default, is for each member
to read out his/her results to each other and the CEO, and state
the actions they will be taking in the near future. After appropriate
challenges by the boss, they adjourn until the next scheduled meeting.
There is little team interaction, and no collaborative, synergistic
idea generation. How ironic that they are so demanding in their
business operations, but so passive in their work together as a “senior
team.”
The above example is more descriptive of a work group sharing
information. What they are doing is clearly important, but as an
executive leadership team, they must have a greater reason for
meeting than this. There is too much experience, brain power and
needs in the business to settle for so little.
When purpose is not clear,
there is another predictable result. Teams end up cramming so much
into their agendas, that little gets done on any particular topic.
(For senior teams, this can be especially exasperating, given all
of the issues facing their business on any given day.) When this
occurs, members constantly wonder (or complain privately outside
the meetings) if they are spending time on the right things. They
are also unsure when closure on any item has really been reached.
So a lot of time is spent outside the team or at subsequent meetings,
clarifying previous discussions or re-opening decisions that supposedly
had already been made. Kind of like continuing to offer evidence
after the jury has already rendered the verdict. This is not the
most efficient or satisfying way to run a business! Teams need to
be clear on their destinations and committed to staying on course.
Your Responsibility on a Team
If you find yourself as a member of a team that seems to be stuck
in neutral or worse yet, constantly bickering about almost everything
rather than accomplishing anything, take a minute and reflect on
the structure and purpose of that team. You will likely find that
one or the other needs some attention.
As a contributing member, you have a responsibility to surface
the need to discuss barriers holding the team back. You will have
to step up and find a way to help the team acknowledge those obstacles
and get everyone's commitment to address them. You cannot be a
silent co-conspirator, by ignoring tough issues or choosing not
to get involved in dealing with them.
If you are a team leader, you will
need to start providing more leadership. You must ensure the members
understand why the team exists, its goals or purposes, and its importance
to the larger organization. You will also need to ensure that people
are clear on your expectations of what they are supposed to do for
the team, and the values, norms, and operating principles by which
their behavior on the team should be guided. And you must hold them
accountable for contributing directly to the outcomes the team is
responsible for delivering.
It's hard enough working in teams when purpose is clear and everyone
is a value-adding contributor. But it can only be a frustrating
effort in futility when either or both are lacking. The very best
of teams regularly re-examine their purpose, and consistently give
each other feedback on their levels of contribution (both quality
and quantity). Start that practice on your teams right now, if
you have not already. Don't fall into the too common trap of focusing
solely on the work to be done and avoiding the dynamics encircling
the team itself. It might feel more comfortable, but neither you
personally, nor your collective team will ever achieve what you
are truly capable of.
Copyright 2003 International Leadership
Associates
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