Team Not Performing? Do This First.

ByBarbara Churchill

One of the services I provide is team coaching, helping teams become more productive, better communicators and work together more effectively.

Recently, I had a leader reach out to me asking if I could help her fix her team. She shared all the issues the team was facing:

  • Ineffective communication
  • Missed deadlines
  • Decreased productivity
  • Toxic work environment – backstabbing, gossip, etc.
  • People crossing over into other’s areas of responsibility
  • Loss of talent

I could feel the sense of urgency in her voice:

“I’m so frustrated with my team! This is taking its toll on my personal life as well – arriving at work early to ‘catch up’, working late, not spending enough time with my family. I’m exhausted!”

Can you relate?

So often, the focus in an organization is on growth and profit. Not much time and resources are put into the “who”. Who are the people that will be executing the strategy and are they capable of doing it? Is the team working well together? Do we have the right leaders in place? Are we staffed to handle the extra workload?

There are a lot of questions that aren’t getting answered.

Until it gets too painful to ignore.

Sometimes massive growth creates massive growing pains.

Most often, they get ignored.

Isn’t it funny how we wait until things are unbearable before we take action? We wait until it’s a desperate situation and one we could have avoided by being proactive.

Creating a healthy team and embedding practices into the team culture is essential to weathering those growing pains.

Before you make any personnel changes or bring in an off-the-shelf program to cure what ails you, ask yourself these questions:

  • Is the team really a team? A team is a small number of people (3-12) who meet on a regular basis and are collectively responsible for results. They share common goals and the rewards and responsibilities for achieving them. Not every group is a team. There may be a collection of people who report to the same manager, but don’t share much interdependence or accountability.
  • Is the team ready for “heavy lifting”? The benefits of being a high-functioning team are enormous. But they can only be achieved if the team is willing to invest considerable time and emotional energy. Short-cuts and half-measures don’t cut it.
  • Is the leader truly committed to building a team? For a team to be successful, the leader must understand the power of teamwork and be prepared to lead the effort in terms of setting an example and devoting time to it. There’s no room for judgement here – if your team needs help, be willing to get it.
  • Is this the right time? Certain situations may make it difficult to effectively implement changes: you have a brand-new team; a team member is leaving; there’s been a significant (or will be) change in leadership or a reorganization.
  • As the leader, am I willing to invest the necessary resources to stop the bleeding? I see it time and time again. There is a significant problem creating a significant financial cost that needs immediate fixing. The only thing that’s been tried is a one-size-fits-all program in a 1-day workshop format. No follow up. No support. No accountability. To create lasting and effective change requires a decision to commit time, energy and financial resources to bring in expert help.

You can change the effectiveness of your team with the right coaching, tools and accountability.

I can help.

Schedule a call with me today to discuss your situation and how team coaching could be the solution you’ve been looking for.

Thanks for watching. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!