Team-Building

The Six Deadly Sins of Team-Building

There is no question that the traditional workplace, with its

emphasis on internal competition and individual star performers

is undergoing a transformation. Management experts and

researchers are suggesting that the successful organization

is one characterized by effective teamwork, and leadership

rathe than management. Organizations are realizing the

importance of developing teams that can work in a coordinated,

efficient, and manner.

If you recognize the need for team development, and are

planning some activities for that purpose, you should have some

idea of the pitfalls of team building, and how to go about it.

Whether you hire a consultant to help, or you lead the process

yourself, you need to know what must be avoided. In this

article we will discuss six deadly sins of team-building.

1. Lack of A Model

It is not uncommon for people leading a team-building process

to ocus on a single aspect of team functioning. Often the

emphasis will be on communication practices, to the exclusion

of other elements that are critical to team success and

effectiveness. Teams just aren't that simple, and a team is

only as strong as its weakest component.

It is rare that a team will benefit by focusing on only one

aspect of team development. In fact, what may happen is

that the unidimensional team building process may increase

frustration, and destroy the credibility of the process.

RX

You need a model of how teams function, so that you can

address all the factors that result in reduced team

effectiveness. At minimum, consider that an effective

team requires:

. Clearly stated and commonly held vision and goals
. Talent and skills required to meet goals
. Clear understanding of team members' roles and functions
. Efficient and shared understanding of procedures and norms
. Effective and skilled interpersonal relations
. A system of reinforcement and celebration
. Clear understanding of the team's relationship to the
greater organization

2. Lack of Diagnosis

Each team is different. Each team has distinct strengths and

weaknesses, and team building must build on these specific

strengths and address weaknesses. Without knowing these

strengths and weaknesses, the team building leader runs

the risk of using a process that will be irrelevant or useless,

again resulting in lack of credibility for the process, and the

sponsor (often you).

Rx

Diagnose as a first step in the process. If you are hiring an

outside consultant, insist that they do a thorough team

assessment as the first step. If you are leading the process

yourself, consider using the Team Assessment & Diagnostic

Instrument (TADI) included in this month's PSM Supplement.

3. Short Term Intervention

It is not uncommon for a manager to arrange for a retreat or

team-building day, without developing a longer term strategy

for team development. At best, a single day dangling on its

own will result in a brief motivational surge that quickly fades.

At worst, the day will bring to light issues that cannot be solved

during that day, and are left to fester. Again, lack of credibility

results.

Let's face it. Your organization or team has evolved its

character over many years. It is not likely that one day,

no matter how good, is going to make much of a dint in

the norms, culture and practices of the team.

Rx

Plan a long term strategy for team building.

We suggest planning for a full year.

4. No Evaluation of Progress

Since team building is a long-term process, you

(and team members) need to know whether it is

succeeding. It is common for team building efforts to take

for granted that things are improving without putting in

place a mechanism for regular
evaluation of team functioning. However, it will be a rare

situation where team improvement will occur smoothly...

there are always glitches, but the team building leader must

be able to identify barriers so that the team can work to

eliminate them.

Rx

Plan regular evaluation of team progress. You can use the

TADI in the PSM supplement as a pre-post measure. We

suggest you use it as a first step, then use it a regular

interviews to see if the results have changed.

5. Leadership Detachment

It is unfortunate that management sometimes enters into

a team- building enterprise in a somewhat detached way.

The detached manager looks at team development as

something that will help others change, so that the team

will function more effectively.

However, the most influential person in most teams is the

formal leader or manager. Like it or not, you set the tone

for the team, whether intentionally or intentionally, and it

is inevitable that team effectiveness cannot be improved

unless the manager is willing to look at his/her contributions

to the team. Management usually has to change too.

Rx

If you aren't willing to hear from employees how your behavior

impacts the team (negatively or positively), don't do team- building.

The worst thing you can do is start the process and refuse to

acknowledge that you are a key player in the process.

6. Doing It All Internally

Team building generally will not succeed unless conflicts

and problems can be brought into the open and dealt with

properly. The problem is that poorly functioning teams are

characterized by a climate of blame, defensiveness, and a lack

of ability to deal with conflict. Poor teams lack the ability to

improve themselves.

There are times when an outside consultant may be required.

While a consultant may bring specialized skills that are lacking

in the organization, the most important reason for using an

outside consultant is that the "outsider" has no history with

the organization, no preconceptions, and may have more

credibility than someone who is perceived as having his/her

own agenda.