Teams are the life of your organization. They are how projects get done. All that diversity can inspire creativity and innovation, but it can also lead to conflict that hinders productivity. Here are red flags that your crew is facing teamwork challenges and need developed.
1. People aren’t jiving, leading to major teamwork challenges.
Do people appear to be working against each other instead of with each other? Is there open conflict and tension between some team members? Collaboration is necessary to overcome teamwork challenges.
Watch for signs. Pay attention to individuals who interrupt other people when they speak, dominate conversations or decisions, insist on the rules, resist change, or become silent or withdrawn from conversations.
Understanding different work styles can improve this. Good leaders recognize that every team member has needs, stress behaviors, and usual behaviors that affect how they interact with others and how they prefer to get work done. This type of emotional intelligence (EQ) can be honed.
An assessment tool like the Birkman Method® provides a shared language for understanding the different behaviors and styles that exist among people. The Birkman Method® can highlight interests and strengths, while also showing how to negotiate for needs within an organization. For the team, it can accelerate relationship building by providing a shared language to help team members recognize and understand the needs of their colleagues. All of this works together to help you move through the teamwork challenges faster.
2. When input or feedback is solicited, few ideas are offered or are reluctantly shared.
If your brainstorming sessions are filled with crickets instead of free-flowing ideas, ask yourself what’s killing the energy. Your team may need a recharge, and tapping an outside source can be a much-needed energy boost to overcome teamwork challenges.
Have you considered a coach? Unlike a supervisor, a coach can become a trusted advisor who provides objective feedback to challenge one’s thinking and offer strategies to help the individual perform differently. Coaches leverage their experiences from other industries and clients, bringing those best practices to guide your employees to think in a new light.
Effective coaching is a transformative experience for individuals who desire more but feel stuck in their current state. Coaching milestones drive engagement by:
- Assessing where the person is today.
- Evaluating her successes and weaknesses.
- Challenging his mindset about capabilities and opportunities.
- Planning to incorporate new behaviors or ideas into the current role.
3. Team members live in a reactive state of mind – further exasperating the teamwork challenges.
Is your team consumed with holding back a landslide? Reactive environments stifle creativity and can hamper camaraderie, leading to multiple teamwork challenges. When team members focus on the emergency in front of them versus their larger department goals, this may lead to continuous project delays and missed deadlines.
Development programs guide individuals to best manage the tyranny of the urgent while working strategically toward goals. An integrated learning experience that incorporates coaching, resources, and hands-on learning drives new behaviors.
Integrated development programs that include one-on-one coaching guide individuals to understand their most authentic selves and that process can be empowering and rewarding for the person while having a ripple effect on the organization. From overcoming teamwork challenges to empowering future leaders, how will you cultivate the bright talent at your organization?
