Someone asked me that question this week at a networking event. Sometimes as consultants there is danger that we can get so wrapped up in our service that we lose sight of the real world business problems that mean clients could really benefit from our services. So here - with lttle explanation now, I may expand on some of these in future - are just the first 25 behaviours that indicate your management team could benefit from team building or facilitation:
1 a few people within the team dominate all discussions
2 work is duplicated and wheels a re-invented
3 "agreed" points are re-opened for discussion later
4 everyone thought someone else was going to do it
5 "Humour" is used to mask differences of viewpoint
6 people do not regard team meetings as valuable
7 few new ideas are generated
8 criticism is aimed at people instead of their ideas
9 people won't raise their concerns until after the meeting
10 team members' departments compete with each other
11 differences of opinion on who is the leader
12 discussions focus on blame rather than solution
13 meetings blindly stick to the same agenda every time
14 meetings are cancelled if the manager can't be there
15 meetings consist of tedious presentations of data
16 people can't explain how their work fits into the whole
17 people can't explain how others' work fits into the whole
18 managers aren't inspired to share meeting news with their own teams
19 nobody reads the reports before the meeting
20 members do not meet outside formal meetings
21 no-one can state the mission of the team of the purpose of its meetings
22 meetings are held even though none is needed
23 different departments are told different stores about what happened
24 high turnover of team members
25 reluctance to allow outsiders into meetings
I have avoided the higher level stuff like "atmosphere" and tried to stick to the actual behaviours. Feel free to add more in comment, if you think I have missed something!
All the best,
Dave Bull
Team Coaching Network Ltd
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2 comments:
the other thing about whether teams are working or not is the results they produce. Although not a hard and fast rule...ie teams which aren't working may still produce the desired results...however the results will give an indication of the effectiveness in communication, leadership, responsibility and team working of the organisation. It is also worth considering along side your list.
You Fiery Reds! Always focussing on outcomes!
Results might be poor, but the causes not directly attributable to poor team working. The question here isn't are teams working, the question is whether they need teambuilding.
Having said that, all the stuff in my list will contribute to poor results!
I'm developing a model showing the drivers between consultancy and training intervations and shareholder value; this might make it clearer where I see the differences.
Thanks for your comments Dan!
Dave
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