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6 Reasons Why Teams Don’t Deliver
Anyone who has achieved any kind of success as a leader or manager can easily cite the contribution of teams to achieving that success. At the same time despite this conceptual understanding many teams fail to deliver anything like their potential. Why is this?
Reason 1: Talk and Walk Not Aligned
Most organisations talk about the importance of teams. Fewer of those organisations actually act and behave in a way that re-enforces the importance of team work.
Reason 2: All For One None For All
By that I mean people put their own personal interests or personal agenda ahead of the interests of the team. They listen to their favourite radio station WIFM (What’s In It For Me).
Reason 3: Talk Talk Syndrome
This one use to frustrate me a lot when I worked in big organisations. It might be familiar to you too. People spend hours talking about the problems and circumstances but never come up with solutions or take decisions.
Reason 4: Fumbling in The Dark
Goal setting is important and it is tough. If a team are not clear about what they are trying to achieve it is always going to be difficult to deliver.
Reason 5: Spineless Leadership
Of course you have to get the balance right as a leader. At the same time if you are the type of leader who is always letting people off the hook, everyone just goes into cruise control.
Reason 6: Too Much Posturing Not Enough Listening
It’s easy to keep throwing in our point of view on everything. On the other hand it takes real effort to really listen and seek to understand other people’s perspectives.
The Bottom Line: Yes teams can help you deliver great results. The challenge is to seize the opportunities that teams offer to leaders, managers and organisations.
Duncan Brodie helps organisations achieve great results through teams.
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.