Team Difficulties

Some teams struggle because of workload demands, deadlines to meet, reports to file, committees to serve on, bosses to satisfy.  What can we do to help the struggling teams boost their performance?

To build better teams we can take these steps:

Commit to the goals, roles and norms for guiding the team’s direction.

  • Is there a shared goal(s)?
    • If not, set shared goals(s) with clear and measurable targets.
    • Roles should be well defined and utilize the skills and interests of the team members
  • Establish norms, rules that help you manage communication, decision making and conflict

Check alignment between the agreements that the team members made and what they are actually doing

  • Team behaviors become habits
  • Create a safe environment for team members to feel it is safe to speak their minds
  • Appoint a team member to play devil’s advocate and ask the tough questions

Close the gap between what team members are saying and doing

  • Remind the team members of the goals, determine small, specific steps the team can take to get back on track
  • Carve out time to work on the and be realistic about the challenges you may face along the way
  • Highlight the positive impact the changes will have

HR Magazine, “Team Troubles”,  Dori Meinert, February 2017

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *