CLIENT NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2022: DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAMS, TEAM DISCOVERY, SET UP TEAMS FOR SUCCESS, FREE WEBINAR, NEXT-LEVEL PI TRAINING, TEAM ALIGNMENT
Can You Spot the Obvious Signs of a Dysfunctional Team?
Although there are multiple reasons for a team to be underperforming and potentially becoming dysfunctional there are a few warning signals to look out for. These include unhealthy conflict (especially interpersonal conflicts), a lack of trust, artificial harmony (where everyone’s always ‘doing great’), acting without informing affected parties, and shooting down ideas.
Despite the best of intentions, there are many different reasons that a team may underperform including:
- Poor communication
- Ineffective leadership
- Low employee engagement
- Lack of motivation
- No common target to work toward
- Poor job fit
- Lack of formal training
When a team is routinely underperforming, you need to evaluate whether or not it can be defined as a dysfunctional team. If you notice this team consists of people who are acting without informing affected parties, making top-down decisions based on seniority, or creating artificial harmony where everyone’s always “doing great,” there may be bigger issues at hand.
You Spotted it – Then What?
If you suspect that your team is dysfunctional, explore the following possibilities: Where does the lack of trust stem from? Is the issue primarily with leadership? Is there a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities? Are team dynamics fraught with bias and favoritism? So if you determine that you are in the unfortunate situation of being faced with a dysfunctional team or if you want to be proactive and decrease the probability of problems arising in the future a Team Alignment Session might be the thing you are looking for. This session will help team members create more awareness of themselves as members of this particular team, and it will help them manage each other and create that famous ‘awareness of others’ which is the add-on to the well established concept of self-awareness. Insight into the drivers of others and team dynamics is key when you want to re-engage team members and built more cohesive teams. And how do you set up the teams for success? Join our free webinar on December 16th!
WHAT DOES TEAM DISCOVERY UNCOVER?
Know yourself: Take the six-minute PI Behavioral Assessment to learn how you work best and how you influence your team.
Know your team: Invite team members to take the assessment, and discover your team’s collective strengths and weaknesses.
Know your strategy: Identify misalignment between the team’s abilities and its goals, and get recommended actions to close the gap and achieve success. Read more about Team Discovery HERE.
HOW DO I FACILITATE A TEAM SESSION?
If you are PI certified practitioner we recommend you attend our DESIGN Teams advanced workshop. We can help you get set up to run team sessions based on PI and our consultants are ready to help you.
Free Webinar on How to Set Up a Team for Success
So, how do you improve team performance to get teams to work for you? It takes a strategic approach, effective leadership, and an in-depth understanding of team dynamics. In the upcoming open webinar on Linkedin we look into how to set your team up for success. We cover how Team Discovery will help you in a team alignment session as well as three aspects of improving team cohesion and ultimately performance:
- Encourage open communication
- Build workplace confidence
- Be intentional about team building
Join the webinar if you are curious about PI – explore our site to dive into Team Discovery or contact us if you want to know more about how PI can help you in your work with teams.
