Read Part I of the mini case study.
What may be some of the primary reasons for the team feeling as they are?
There are any number of issues that could be happening. The members may not understand what it means to be part of a team, may have had poor experiences on past teams, or even may have so much going on that they feel they cannot take on one more assignment. Certainly there is no commitment to teamwork or to the team as a whole. There are so many reasons as to why the team members may feel as they do. In order to understand the reasons for the team feeling as they do, it is a good practice to reach out to the team members individually to understand their concerns in more detail. Understanding their past experiences working in teams – whether at this organization or another – will help in moving them forward. A better understanding of the team members enables for getting to the root of the problem and to make changes/adjustments to correct it.
What should be done at this point?
The team leader needs to set up individuals meetings with each team member to:
- Discuss their concerns
- Understand their past experiences working on the team
- Determine their commitment to teamwork in general and in particular for this project
Once the team leader has met with each team member individually, a team meeting (ideally in person) should be held with a focus on:
- Team building activities
- Sharing the objectives of the project
- Working with the team, the team leader should collaboratively:
- Set team goals (in line with the objectives of the project)
- Determine roles and responsibilities on the team
- Determine how the team members will work together, including:
- Resolving conflicts on the team
- Solving problems that arise
- Pass work from one team member to another
- Processes and procedures for getting work done
- Determine how the team will be recognized for their efforts
- Determine how often the team should meet
Moving forward, after this initial meeting, the team leader should regularly check on progress and ensure the team keeps moving forward to meet the goals of the objectives. This may be done during team meetings but should also entail some one-on-one time with team members.
What should have been done from day one when these issues surfaced?
Had all of this been done early on when the project was first launched, the team may be in a different place. Every team needs time to get to know each other to build trust and to collaborate on how they will work together. As a best practice, I kick off every project with an initial team meeting focused on the team getting to know each other – building relationships with each other and building trust. A variety of team activities can help accomplish this.
