Getting your dysfunctional team to function smoothly

Getting your dysfunctional team to function smoothly | practice (split each time) | How small changes can have a big impact on employees

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April 11, 2024

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Leading the Way

Getting your dysfunctional team to function smoothly

(Delmaine Donson/Getty Images)

Your team might be dysfunctional if they talk behind each other's backs, a few dominate discussions or they constantly criticize each other, writes Jim Clemmer. Teams follow their leader, Clemmer notes, which means leaders must facilitate growth, teach their team problem-solving skills and get them to focus on common goals and values.

Full Story: The CLEMMER Group (4/10)

Put it into practice: Ward off team dysfunction by equipping leaders with the skills and resources they need, celebrating their achievements, meeting frequently and ending meetings by reflecting on what's going well, Clemmer recommends. "Highly effective teams balance doing their work or working IN the team with stepping back periodically to refocus and work ON the team."

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SmartBrief on Leadership

How small changes can have a big impact on employees

Harris (Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Scott Harris, the president of baseball operations at the Detroit Tigers, was hired to make changes to the organization, so he did what John Baldoni says the best leaders do -- listen. The changes Harris made -- new showers, a new cafeteria and an improved workout room -- may seem like little things, but Baldoni writes that top players are drawn to places where they know leaders listen and act on their concerns.

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Put it into practice: Leaders can emulate Harris, who visited all of the Detroit Tigers' training facilities and minor league parks, by going out of their way to listen to as many employees as possible and finding ways to address even their smallest concerns, Baldoni writes. "Part of listening means following the way of the gemba, the Japanese term referring to 'where the work is.'"

Read more from John Baldoni on SmartBrief on Leadership

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Smarter Communication

Avert late work by trusting your gut and speaking up

A leader who senses a project is veering off track but doesn't bring it up promptly with a frequently underperforming subordinate is doing both parties a disservice. "Bottom line: It's the leader's job to ensure progress, whether or not the subordinate is capable of generating that progress," management consultant Liz Kislik writes, suggesting ways to act early when the antennae go up.

Full Story: Liz Kislik Associates (4/9)

Put it into practice: Use structural supports, and look for patterns, Kislik advises. Confront rather than avoid, and bring in HR if necessary to help with a difficult conversation about ongoing habits.

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About The Editor

Candace Chellew

Chellew

Dysfunctional teams are the bane of every leader. You want to be able to give assignments and projects to teams and let them take the lead, but, as Jim Clemmer notes, when they're busy undercutting each other, their success isn't guaranteed.

Clemmer is right that the leader sets the tone. If you haven't equipped your team with the skills and resources they need, they'll develop bad habits such as sniping at one another and not recognizing their common goals or values. It's up to leaders to chart that course for them. John Baldoni's story about the Detroit Tigers' president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, holds clues for what leaders need to do more of—listening.

Follow Harris' lead and begin to listen closely to the concerns of your team. Acting on things that seem like a minor concern can go a long way toward boosting morale and creating an atmosphere of collegiality where every team member can thrive and the whole team can succeed.

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