I was recently chatting to someone who’s team was facing in my view, what could only be described as significant dysfunction. Not where you really want to be as you start into the new year. They are a typical small Hawke's Bay business with no more than ten folk working there.
They’re good at what they do at a technical level, but communication had broken down, trust had been compromised, and infighting and sniping had become a regular occurrence. At one stage a couple of the staff almost came to blows. It just wasn’t a happy place to be. It was clear they had some problems. As much as the business owner was hoping things would get better, it was pretty obvious immediate action was needed. The response was broken into three parts:
- Deal with the people fighting
- Try and get the team to get along
- As Jim Collins would say, 'Confront the brutal’ facts with the business-owner, that their inaction and turning a blind eye most likely caused things to get worse as opposed to them going away.
People Management & Leadership
An external HR ER person came in to deal with some of the immediate employment behaviour. I was also able to introduce the business owner to someone who could help focus on the overall team communication and leadership, and get some clarity between everyone. It was pretty easy to identify that the team had fallen into a pattern of poor communication, lack of trust, and infighting.
The business owner has started to develop a plan that included team-building sessions, training on effective communication and collaboration, and the implementation of clear processes and protocols for decision-making and goal-setting. The leadership coach worked closely with the team and the business owner to ensure that each team member had a clear understanding of their role and how it contributed to the overall running of the business. Through this process, the team is slowly starting to improve communication, restore trust, and reduce infighting, albeit it is in the early stages.
Business Owners, Look In The Mirror
Then we had to confront the brutal facts. Why did it even get to this stage? As the owner was having a moan about the state of things (we’ve all been there), I suggested the first place to look was in the mirror, to ask the question ‘what have I done to enable this environment?’ To the business owners credit, they have accepted the feedback given and been very proactive in trying to get things resolved.
Whatever You Do, Do Something!
So if you’re having some issues with your team, things aren’t quite gelling, communication may be askew, before you go and blame everyone else, have a look in the mirror and ask what is it that you’re doing, or not doing that might contribute to that behaviour. I know it’s not comfortable to acknowledge that we might be contributing to some of the issues, but until we do that, things are unlikely to change for the better.
Read: The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
There is a great book The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, written by Patrick Lencioni, which talks exactly about this type of behaviour. Check it out here
In it he talks about 5 dysfunctions that can harm a team:
- Absence of trust
- Fear of conflict
- Lack of commitment
- Avoidance of accountability
- Inattention to results
If you’re interested in getting the best from your team, or perhaps if things aren’t working too well like the business above, it's well worth a read.
For more info on Patrick visit – www.tablegroup.com
He also has a podcast with some great info – www.tablegroup.com/at-the-table
