Teams take longer to achieve their goals when roadblocks and unexpected obstacles impede progress. Photo: Leadership Fluent.
Michelle Gibbings analyses some of the issues that prevent work teams from functioning at 100 per cent efficiency and what leaders can do to address them.
Have you ever had a time when it looked like things were going OK, but when you dug deeper, you realised they weren’t going to plan?
Everything was taking longer, and roadblocks and unexpected obstacles kept getting in the way of progress.
If so, you’re not alone.
I recently worked through an issue like this with a client, so I am sharing this story with their permission.
On the surface, the team was collegiate and there were no obvious signs of dysfunction. However, the team wasn’t progressing as swiftly as expected on a complex matter.
Something in the team wasn’t working, and the leader couldn’t figure out what was getting in the way.
The usual suspects that impact team dynamics were examined. For example:
Was there ineffective communication across the team? A lack of communication can create a breeding ground for misunderstandings and misalignment.
Was there a lack of interdependence? As Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith highlighted in their book The Wisdom of Teams, effective teams have a strong interdependence whereby each member knows their role in contributing to the collective success.
Was trust low or absent? When team members doubt each other’s intentions or abilities, it creates a toxic environment that impedes collaboration.
Trust is foundational, as Patrick Lencioni points out in Five Dysfunctions of a Team Approach.
Was there inadequate accountability and a culture of blame? When team members shirk responsibility or blame others for setbacks, it usually indicates a lack of genuine teamwork.
None of these usual issues resonated, so we examined how the team engaged with its stakeholders across the organisation.
It turns out, that’s where the issue lay.
Team members worked well together, but they weren’t effective at influencing the stakeholders across the organisation.
As a result, the leader spent inordinate amounts of time stepping into meetings, resolving issues, and negotiating outcomes on issues that the team should have been able to manage.
The team members were great technical experts in their roles, but weren’t strong at influencing stakeholders.
The situation was a great reminder that leaders can’t make progress alone.
The less effective team members are in communicating, building constructive relationships and negotiating outcomes, the more the leader must intervene, remove roadblocks and negotiate decisions.
This consumes time in an environment where productivity is already less than ideal, and the pressure to perform continues to rise.
Influential teams can cut through the noise, gain traction, collectively manage change, and have a robust, sustained, healthy impact.
They do this by successfully collaborating with and positively impacting those around them.
They understand the influencing factors operating in the organisational system and have the nous to find the ‘’back door’’ and leverage informal networks to get issues addressed and decisions made.
In today’s working world, being able to influence effectively is no longer just about hierarchy.
Sure, there is positional authority in more senior roles, but having the skills to influence well is a capability all team members need.
The leader recognised this, so we built a capability plan to help team members elevate their skills, with the leader playing a crucial role.
The aim was to build healthy and dynamic stakeholder relationships, create coalitions of support for change, communicate authentically and compellingly, and negotiate important decisions.
With these skills, the team was better positioned to secure long-term, mutually beneficial relationships and outcomes with its stakeholders.
Team members also spent time clarifying what mattered and how and where they wanted to progress.
Influential teams that strive for good outcomes do many things differently. One is how to stand out without making it all about them.
They acknowledge the efforts of others and don’t take the glory for successes that were not theirs or theirs alone.
Instead, they recognise and value their colleagues, stakeholders and business partners.
They treat everyone they meet respectfully, valuing each interaction and seeing every opportunity to deepen the connection.
In doing this, they welcome different thoughts, ideas and opinions as they know they don’t have all the answers.
At the same time, they are not afraid to take a stand and speak up on important matters – not just for themselves but also for others.
So take a moment to think about your team members and how they influence at work.
Are there gaps that need to be closed? If so, what steps will you take to address them?
Michelle Gibbings is a Melbourne-based workplace expert and an award-winning author. She’s on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces – where people thrive and progress is accelerated. Contact her at [email protected].
