Teams: What makes them go wrong?

I’m sure you’ve had the same experience as most people. You’ve started a new project, working with some colleagues in your organization. You were chosen for this because you have something to contribute.

At first, you’re excited about the prospect of working with others to accomplish something that drives positive change in your organization. And then, the team starts to work together. One person doesn’t pull his weight. Another person forgets to “stay in her lane,” and mostly suggests (unsolicited and annoying) ways that you can fix your area. And the list goes on and on and on. Soon enough, you’re wondering why you’re working on the project and you just can’t wait for it to end.

What can go wrong? Most of the thoughts about problem teamwork falls into fourteen categories:

1. Vision, purpose and goals lack clarity
2. Roles not defined
3. Team has weak culture
4. Team members struggle with diversity
5. Lack support (time and resources) for teamwork
6. Mistrust
7. Miscommunication
8. Poor out-of-the-box thinking
9. Weak problem solving capability
10. Team behaviors cause poor decisions
11. Lack conflict resolution skills
12. Team leader lacks team leadership skills
13. Ineffective meeting facilitation
14. Poor meeting behaviors

Any of these happen in your team? Follow our blog and maybe you’ll have learn some creative ideas about how to reduce team conflict and help your team to perform.

Written by: Tim Franz