Why Teams Fail & 10 Steps to Create Your Dream Team
“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a lack of teamwork makes the team a meme.” -Unknown
There are many reasons why teams may not be effective, and these can vary depending on the specific team and its context. Here are some common reasons why teams may struggle and how you create and cultivate collaborative, productive, and cohesive teams:
1. Lack of clear goals
2. Conflicting priorities
3. Poor communication
4. Insufficient leadership
5. Lack of trust
6. Lack of diversity
7. Inadequate resources
8. Personality clashes
9. Lack of accountability
10. Resistance to change
Building effective teams is like building a sandcastle. You have to make sure everyone is on the same page, or else you’ll end up with a lopsided, sunken mess. Building effective teams can be challenging, especially when there are various obstacles that can hinder its success. However, by addressing these issues, you can build strong, top-notch teams!
1. Teams need clear goals to work towards, which helps them focus and prioritize their efforts. It’s essential to ensure that all team members understand the overall/common purpose, goals, and objectives. To achieve this, you can organize team meetings, develop a mission statement, and provide regular updates on progress to ensure everyone’s on the same page.
2. Conflicting priorities can cause feelings of frustration and overwhelm, leading to a decrease in motivation and productivity. To overcome, encourage your team to communicate and prioritize tasks based on the team’s common goal. As a leader, you can ensure that tasks and expectations are clear and aligned with the goal.
3. Communication is essential for building effective teams. It’s important to establish a culture of open communication where team members can freely express their thoughts and ideas. Establish clear lines of communication and utilize collaborative tools to facilitate communication.
4. Teams require strong leadership to function effectively. To be a transformational leader, you need to be supportive, empowering, and provide guidance to team members. Ensure that team members have the resources and the training necessary to succeed. Provide regular informal feedback and recognition.
5. Building trust takes time, but it’s crucial. Trust is established by being reliable, transparent, and keeping commitments. Encourage team members to be honest and open with one another and avoid favoritism. As a leader, you must walk the talk first and model this.
6. Diverse teams bring a range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas, which also results in a more creative team and improved decision-making. Ensure that your team is diverse and inclusive and celebrate differences.
7. Sufficient resources are required for success. Make sure your team has access and support to the necessary tools, technology, etc., to achieve their goals.
8. Personality clashes can lead to conflict and decrease productivity. Foster a culture of respect and value of different personalities and working styles. Mediate conflicts and establish clear conflict resolution processes. See my post on the Enneagram.
9. Establish clear performance metrics and hold team members accountable for their work. Ensure they understand their roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
10. Change can be difficult, but it’s often necessary for individuals, teams, and organizations to grow and evolve. Think of how you might encourage your team to be adaptable and open to new ideas and approaches. Can you provide training and support to facilitate the transition to new (and better) ways of working? Consider hiring a certified Change Manager if you don’t already have on in-house. We can chat about how I can volunteer as tribute HERE.
Overall, teams may struggle to be effective for a variety of reasons, and it’s important for team members and leaders to identify and address these issues in order to build strong, productive teams. There are many tools that can be utilized to cultivate successful teams, and one of those is the Enneagram. Read last week’s blog post HERE where I dived into what in the world the Enneagram is and how to benefit from it in your professional AND personal life!
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this:
Think of building a team like cooking a gourmet meal. You need the right ingredients, a skilled chef, and no one can be too salty. You’ve got this!!
