9 WAYS TO BECOME A DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM
How many of these 9 watch-outs can your teams relate to? Find out how to adapt and adjust your team from dysfunctional to fully functional, today.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, high-performance teams are crucial for achieving success. Every organization aspires to have a high-performing team that produces exceptional results. However, some teams may find it harder to function at their peak and a dysfunctional team can quickly turn a promising project into a nightmare. At times the cause of this dysfunction can be hard to spot for leaders, it only takes a few negative habits and a lack of communication to turn a cohesive group of individuals into a disjointed team that struggles to achieve its goals.
Whether you’re a team leader, manager, or individual team member, understanding these 9 common pitfalls can help you identify potential problems early to build a stronger and more productive team.
1. Lack of team trust
“There’s no team without trust,” according to Paul Santagata, Head of Industry at Google. Trust is the foundation of an effective, high-performing team. Without trust, team members may be unwilling to share information, take risks, or collaborate effectively, all of which can severely hinder the team’s ability to perform at its peak. This can result in missed deadlines, which can ultimately impact the team’s reputation and success. This lack of trust can lead to individuals focusing on their own interests rather than the team’s goals, resulting in a lack of alignment and cohesion within the team.
Leaders can cultivate team trust by reinforcing a sense of psychological safety within the team. Psychological safety is a belief that one can speak up and take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences. When team members feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns openly, leading to improved communication and collaboration. At ADAPTOVATE we encourage leaders to create psychological safety by taking a more active role in team discussions, offering constructive and regular feedback, and responding with empathy and support. Another consideration could be incorporating a team norms session at regular intervals. Through this, teams can align early on how they want to work and receive feedback, further strengthening psychological safety.
2. Unresolved team conflict
Conflict is inevitable in any team, but it’s important to address conflicts quickly and effectively to prevent dysfunction within the team. Unresolved conflicts can lead to tension, decreased morale, and a communication breakdown.
There are some examples of team conflict that can be easy to spot, for example, the formation of cliques within the workplace, gossiping, and constant escalation of disputes to seniors before team members attempt to resolve issues internally. Keen observation from leaders of these warning signs can help them resolve conflicts before they balloon into a larger crisis. When conflict does arise, it is essential that team members approach the problem as collaborators, not adversaries. This can be facilitated by establishing clear processes for dispute resolution and encouraging open communication to create a space where individuals feel more comfortable discussing in broader team settings. Regular retrospective sessions can also help open up a safe space for teams to discuss ways of working and improvement opportunities without focusing on the individual.
When a psychologically safe working environment is established, individuals are more likely to engage in productive conflict, wherein they can honour differences and have spirited healthy conversations without entangling personal feelings.
3. Flaky team commitment
The completion of team goals and objectives often hinges on the team’s commitment to the task and each other. However, when team members are not fully committed, it can lead to dysfunction within the team. To evaluate dysfunction within the team, leaders need to observe if expectations are clearly communicated to all team members irrespective of their preferred communication style. Flaky team commitment can manifest in several ways, such as team members not following through on commitments, not showing up for meetings, or not contributing fully to team projects.
When evaluating how to increase team commitment, leaders should look to set expectations by cultivating an understanding of the priorities and needs of the team involved. The team must understand the expectations set for them and be held accountable for the same. This can be done by clearly communicating deadlines and goals, providing regular feedback and support, and recognizing and rewarding team members for their contributions.
At ADAPTOVATE, we encourage team members to embrace accountability and managers to communicate expectations clearly and concisely and have seen that through regular feedback and monitoring it is possible to operate in committed, highly effective teams.
4. Blaming & lack of accountability
When team members are not willing to take responsibility for their actions or hold one another accountable, this can lead to not only underperforming teams but also create a hostile work culture. When team members engage in a culture of blame, they focus on finding fault rather than taking responsibility for their own actions limiting their ability to take risks or speak up for fear of failure and being blamed. Moreover, when a team is averse to taking accountability for its actions, it is less likely to learn from its mistakes and make improvements.
A team leader should try to combat this threat of dysfunction by actively promoting team accountability and treating failures as learning opportunities. This requires open communication, a focus on learning and improvement, and a willingness to take responsibility for mistakes and failures. Through a positive feedback culture and this discouraging of ‘unsafe critique’, we at ADAPTOVATE have found that individuals feel more comfortable working within the broader team. Facilitating regular retrospectives can help team members share feedback constructively and agree on accountability, find a more comfortable way to work. With fears of reprimand and lack of trust eliminated, teams can perform at their peak and develop more innovative ideas.
5. Lack of processes
The lack of appropriate, key processes can lead to team dysfunction by causing confusion, inconsistency, and disorganization. When teams do not have clear processes and procedures in place, it can be difficult for team members to understand their roles and responsibilities. This can lead to duplication of effort, missed deadlines, and errors in communication.
If team members are constantly wondering ‘what is the process’, they may also be hesitant to take risks or suggest innovative ideas, as they may not be sure how to proceed or who is responsible for implementing new approaches. In addition to creating confusion and inconsistency, the lack of processes can lead to disorganization. Without clear guidelines, team members may not know where to find important information or how to access necessary resources.
We use lightweight, appropriate frameworks to align teams on strategic objectives and the work that needs to be done. By establishing documented processes and regular cadence and routines, teams can show a propensity for open communication, collaboration, and a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. A leader must also be mindful of regularly reviewing and updating these processes to maintain relevancy and efficiency. By creating a culture of process improvement, teams can seamlessly complete tasks without blockers pertaining to ways of working, leading to greater success in achieving their goals.
6. Ineffective Communication
Communication is essential for any successful team. In the context of team functioning, communication refers to the exchange of information, ideas, and feedback within teams and between team members and leaders to achieve a common goal. Effective communication enables team members to understand each other’s perspectives, clarify expectations, and make informed decisions. However, when communication is not effective, it can lead to misunderstandings, delays, and decreased productivity. Ineffective communication can manifest in several ways, such as team members not listening actively, not providing clear or concise messages, or not following up on important discussions.
There are some basic effective communication techniques that a team can practice to achieve optimal alignment. Firstly, creating a common language for the team is crucial, shared definitions of key terms and tasks help limit misunderstanding. Clear communication of team and company objectives can also help the team align on common goals to work towards, helping the team stay on track and keep themselves accountable. At ADAPTOVATE we place an emphasis on clear and open channels of communication. We have seen that regular alignment with key stakeholders such as executives through showcases can help keep the team on track and deliver the desired project outcome. Teams should also establish clear guidelines for communication, such as expected response times or preferred modes of communication. Finally, surveying feedback at regular intervals or after key milestones such as the completion of a project can help leaders understand and facilitate improvement in communication. By steering away from ineffective communication, teams can improve collaboration, reduce conflict, and increase their overall effectiveness.
7. Negative competition & workload imbalance
Efficient teams often consist of members who work equitably towards a common objective, however in dysfunctional teams the majority of the workload may be undertaken by a few members, this is commonly termed a workload imbalance. When team members are focused on outdoing each other, they may overlook opportunities to share knowledge, skills, and resources that could benefit the team as a whole, this leads to what is commonly referred to as negative competition. These two factors often complement each other and can be commonly identified by signs such as missed deadlines, poor-quality work, poor morale, and high levels of stress and burnout.
To reduce the impact of this on their team, team leaders can carry out an exercise to ensure the team is aware of its goals and gain buy-in, it is also important to ensure that there is clarity around the roles and responsibilities associated with each team member. This also includes ensuring that workloads are distributed fairly and that team members have access to the resources and support they need to succeed. Having regular check-ins, perhaps daily can help leaders monitor team progress and individual workload and act as needed. It also involves fostering a collaborative culture that values open communication, constructive feedback, and continuous learning.
8. Lack of decision making
If a team is unable to make important decisions, it could be a warning sign that there is a lack of trust and cohesion within the team. Without clear decision-making, teams are often slow, less productive, and have low morale.
The lack of decision-making can stem from a variety of factors, including a confusion around roles and responsibilities, insufficient information, or disagreement among team members. In contrast, good decision-making requires the organization to propagate clarity around task requirements, information, and collaboration while encouraging analysis and action.
To prevent a lack of decision-making leading to team dysfunction, teams should establish clear decision-making processes and frameworks. This includes identifying decision-making authority, defining the criteria for decision-making, and establishing a timeline for decision-making. Teams should also ensure that they have access to all the information necessary to make informed decisions and that they are communicating effectively to build consensus and agreement.
By having a clear framework in place, teams can be dynamic and responsive to challenges, producing quality output fast.
9. Absence of vulnerability
When team members are unable to speak their minds freely, it can create frustration and disappointment planting the seeds for dysfunction to arise within a team. When team members are not vulnerable, they withhold information or avoid difficult but necessary conversations, which can create a toxic environment and ultimately hinder team progress. A team that is becoming dysfunctional due to a lack of vulnerability can be identified by a prominent blame culture, resistance to constructive feedback, and a fear of failure, all of which can limit the team’s ability to develop new and innovative ideas.
At ADAPTOVATE, we encourage leaders to take a more active role in modelling vulnerability. By opening themselves up to receiving honest and 360-degree feedback, leaders can demonstrate vulnerability, building trust. Team building exercises, one-on-one feedback sessions and generally promoting a positive feedback culture can also help consolidate a safe working environment.
By emphasising vulnerability, leaders can assist their teams in building stronger relationships, making better decisions, and achieving their goals effectively.
Conclusion
A team can become dysfunctional at any point in time for various reasons as seen here, but it’s important to recognize the signs and take immediate action to address them. By building trust, having clear communication, and managing accountability, teams can maintain their operational efficiency at its peak. As a leader fostering a healthy and productive team environment needs to be a priority in order to achieve success. Keeping in mind the significant business impacts of having a dysfunctional team detailed here, it is in the organization’s best interests to keep the team working as a cohesive unit to maximise output.
Find out how ADAPTOVATE can help with your organization’s team cohesiveness.
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