When a team isn’t working well together it can make any manager's life miserable. Instead of working towards and achieving agreed targets you are constantly managing mis-communication, diffusing conflict and instead of being productive you’re in continuous fire fighting mode. You lurch from one mini crisis to the next trying to keep all the balls in the air. You think you've solved one problem for three to pop up. You end the day on a high only to start the next one on a low. You now dread getting the team together. The negativity is so tangible you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Walking through the office is like walking into a freezer and you can feel your anxiety levels rising.
The damage of dysfunction in teams
Managing your own positivity and confidence is a daily exhaustion because dealing with your team saps any energy you've managed to create and leaves you feeling drained and dejected. Dealing with a dysfunctional team for any length of time can take a toll not only on yourself in a leadership role but on other staff members and the organisation as a whole. Dysfunction can spread like an infection throughout your organisation causing widespread negativity, reduced motivation, team members become disengaged knocking the confidence of valued team members.
Signs and symptoms your team is dysfunctional;
Feeling like everything you try is pointless and that nothing you do makes any difference
You start to hold grudges against team members due to their attitude
You have zero patience
You are taking your frustration out on people you live with
Having problems switching off and falling asleep
You feel exhausted all the time
You are finding it harder and harder to be positive
You find yourself joining in with the attitude of the team, adopting toxic and unhelpful behaviours including bitching about other team members
You feel isolated at work
You feel like giving up and that making any positive changes is impossible
If you have identified problems within your team rather than running yourself ragged trying to put out lots of little fires, focus your energy on taking decisive, positive action.
Dealing with dysfunction
In a business, the relationships we have either help or hinder the aims of the organisation. Teams where every person is able to contribute and fulfill the role they have been given depend on the quality of the relationships we have with each other.
“If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”
― Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
The Resilience Programme is designed to help leaders and teams that find themselves exactly where you are right now. My work focuses on helping teams become more effective. By working through a series of virtual workshops we will restore your confidence and build your resilience. You will learn how to positively communicate with each other. Your motivation will be ramped right up as you begin to understand how you think and gain a greater understanding of your beliefs and patterns of behaviour. I will show you how to switch on your potential so that you can achieve all your goals, as individuals and as a team.
The importance of communication and trust
High performing teams are built on trust so it makes sense that the resilience program begins with communication. Most conflict is the result of poor communication. The first thing we do is get your team communicating positively.
Good communication creates an environment where we can build trust. The absence of trust is the root of most team problems. Lack of trust happens when team members are unable or unwilling to be vulnerable and open with each other. Vulnerability doesn’t mean telling your team mates the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you. When you have trust within a team, members are able to apologise to each other, admit when they've made a mistake, have the courage to admit if they don’t know something and commit to positive change and growth. It’s about having connecting conversations and being prepared to be open and honest. You can’t have connecting conversations without good communication so many team leaders find themselves in a chicken and egg situation.
If teams can trust each other and master the art of positive disagreement then they are more likely to follow through on the plan and focus on the collective results.
Next steps
Are you ready to address the dysfunction in your team and improve results? The Resilience Programme isn't a quick fix band aid approach its about cultural change. I help leaders lead effectively and bring teams together so that everyone is happier, more productive and fulfilled at work.
If you want everyone on your team pulling in the same direction ask me about The Resilience Programme.