7 deadly sins for teams
How teams can work better together (without all the toxicity).
Today’s businesses are increasingly complex and are largely run by teams. The benefits of working in a team allows you to have greater impact — leveraging skills from other disciplines and accomplishing more against challenging problems. However, no organization is perfect. Teamwork may also uncover organizational problems. You may end up frustrated, talked over or stuck in endless meetings dominated by a few individuals.
So the question is: why is teamwork so difficult?
How do you get over the hurdles of working in a team?
And how do you manage collaboration in a high growth team?
Here’s a list of seven common negative patterns of behavior that block teamwork success as well as ways to combat them.
Sin #1 — Sloth
Whenever there are multiple people working together, there is some degree of diffusion of responsibility, where a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present. The assumption of responsibility tends to decrease when the potential helping group is larger, resulting in little aiding behavior from bystanders. The larger the group, the easier it is to remain in the background and coast.
Try this: Keep groups small enough so everyone is aware of their role and why they are needed. Keeping teams small ensures decisions can be made quickly without excessive overhead and helps encourage a results driven environment.
Sin #2 — Disorganization
It’s often the case we have too many tools and too many communication channels to keep up with. The constant stream of communication may simply be another case of information overload. And in a fast moving team, things can quickly get chaotic without some form of structure in place.
Try this: Strike a balance between technology/in person communication and don’t overlook the clarity that can be produced from a short in-person meeting. Leaders need to promote a customer-centric environment where employees are informed and connected to their primary customers, giving context for why they are focusing on the task at hand.
Sin #3 —Pride
The problem with experts is that they have worked so long in an area that they may be too comfortable with the status quo. There may also be a Sunk Costs effect in past decisions, making it even harder to promote any sort of change from the current direction.
Even if we claim to be data driven, we are also vulnerable to selective interpretation of data, meaning even if equal numbers of arguments for each position are exchanged, arguments favoring our side are seen as more persuasive.
Try this: Critique past decisions and bring in outside opinions for a pair of fresh eyes.
Sin #4 — Envy
People are naturally competitors, especially in competitive workplace situations. However, envy can be a part of a negative dynamics— causing us to squander knowledge from people we should be learning from and exert needless energy on resentment and in-fighting.
Try this: Focus on the problem, not the politics. Cultivate self-compassion and channel admiration for other’s success as a way to hone your own motivation and creativity.
Sin #5 — Groupthink
Groupthink is a process where rapid divergence leads to action, with too few alternatives and objectives explorations that ignore risks. It can occur when a team is close knit (which isn’t a bad thing), but also increases the desire to stick close together and avoid conflict, which may limit explorations or dissent.
Try this: Treat people with respect and encourage honest critique rather than polite praise (which may not necessary be helpful).
Sin #6 — Lethargy
The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’
— Grace Hopper
When your perspective shifts from customer focused to what I’ve gotten use to after years of looking at this product/idea or service. A simple explanation gets bogged down with unnecessary and complex terminology.
Try this: Break down a large problem into smaller actionable steps or stages. Insist on high standards and lean toward simplifying concepts and standards for success so it’s understandable and consistently enforced as your team scales.
Sin #7 — Ambiguity
Teams may sometimes have to deal with having so many priorities that it isn’t clear what is important. It’s very difficult for anyone, let alone a group of people to focus on executing multiple tasks successfully if there’s fifty priorities.
Try this: Ask leadership to set timelines and clear pathways to success. Simplify decision-making (clarify which numbers/metrics/criteria count) and work around a shared vision.
—
Did you find this useful? Buy me a coffee to give my brain a hug. Feel free to check out my design work or my handbook on UX design, upgrading your portfolio and understanding design thinking.
