Teams are a vital part of getting things done–especially when it comes to problem-solving. What does it take to be successful? Let’s answer that question by looking at a number of common stumbling blocks.
The first stumbling block is cultural. In America, we tend to value individual achievement by rewarding individual success. There is a tendency for us to carry that desire for individual recognition into a team setting rather than putting it aside in favor of what’s best for the team. A team must become more than a collection of individuals if it is to function effectively.
Another significant stumbling block is structural. Each team member plays a specific role on the team, but may not fully understand his responsibilities even when assigned a specific part. For example, there is a tendency to confuse the roles and responsibilities of team leader and team facilitator.
Teams often lack clarity of objectives. Taking a quick straw poll can reveal that the team members have diverging ideas about the team’s ultimate goal. This may point to a poorly written objective and/or a lack of effective communication. There is a tendency to assume (wrongly) that everyone understands what the team is supposed to do.
Team effectiveness is also hampered by inadequate time and resources to accomplish the goal. A handful of people are recruited to serve on several different teams at one time while maintaining a full schedule of daily responsibilities. And teams suffer from a lack of support in this respect–there is no allowance in the work schedule for the team to experiment with process changes that are necessary to solve long-standing problems. The team sponsor’s role is to ensure adequate team resources (including time on the production line) and to “clear the way” for the team to make process changes. The team has enough to worry about without having to overcome resistance within the organization.
The assortment of problems we see is often reduced to a common source: priorities. When examining the reasons why teams struggle, it becomes clear that we simply do not make the team’s success a priority. We may state our priorities with words, but we demonstrate our priorities with action.
In the next article, we’ll discuss some additional aspects of “team dynamics” that tend to stifle success.
J.R. Dickens
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