It’s natural and expected for teams to move through cycles. They have highs and lows; good times and bad; excitement when all the hard work pays off, frustration and anger the when there’s confusion or disagreement over the team’s direction.
It’s difficult sometimes to work out whether the problems experienced are natural and normal — and will eventually pass — or it’s a problem needing serious attention. Don’t worry, many problems are familiar and foreseeable and when anticipated and recognized can be easily fixed.
Let’s look at three common problems and the strategies you can use to avoid them:
1. Dominant Personalities
To be successful, teams need everyone to have their say. If some take up too much airtime, others have less time and opportunity to explain their points of view.
As a result you’ll get those who say almost nothing, remaining quiet because they can’t break into the discussions or haven’t had time to gather their thoughts.
People who dominate discussions and talk too long can also keep the team from building momentum making some members feel they are being excluded from the team’s work.
2. How to Balance Participation
The key is to invite input from all team members. Ways you can do this are:
- Going around the table to gather ideas giving everyone a chance to offer a point of view.
- Asking people to form small groups to discuss issues, then have them rejoin to share their ideas.
- Asking quieter members directly for their opinions.
- Having a few minutes of silent thinking time so people who have difficulty speaking up have time to organize their thoughts and find the words they for what they want to say.
3. Unfocused, Unproductive and Undisciplined Team Meetings
A sense of progress and momentum is needed for a team to feel successful and enthusiastic about their work. When a team fails to focus on its work, team members can become frustrated, bored, or lose interest, and can even stop doing the work or attending the meetings at all.
How to Maintain Focus and Overcome Distractions
- Make sure the team is clear about its purpose, timeframes, resources and limits.
- Use agendas to keep track of what should and should not be covered in each meeting.
- Have the team’s purpose statement printed at the top of every agenda — a key reminder of why they are there.
- Discuss one issue at a time rather than several simultaneously.
Key People are not Included on the Team
This issue may only become apparent when tough decisions need to be made. Consider who the stakeholders are and who will be affected by the team’s activities or decisions. These individuals should play a role on the team either as full time members or ‘advisors’.
How to Include Key People
Make sure all team members and senior management understand and agree to the scope of the team’s activities such as:
- What decisions can be made by the team.
- Which decisions will be made outside the team.
- How and when will the decisions be communicated to those involved.
There also needs to be agreement in the following areas to ensure management support and no misunderstandings in:
- Expenditure beyond the allocated budget.
- Engaging external consultants or experts, or acquiring additional resources.
- Personnel decisions, especially in cross-functional teams.
- Alterations in the team’s schedule and deliverables.
