Teamwork is an important element of success to any company or organization but it is difficult to accomplish. There are many threats that hinder a group to work with unity and harmony, and most of them are hard to fix.
If unsolved, these threats can lead to big financial loss, employee redundancy, and the demise of the company. So before the disunion of your workers tramples your business down, you have to act fast. Here are the threats to a successful teamwork and how to tackle them:
Miscommunication
Every member of a team is interdependent and they have to work closely to coordinate their tasks and achieve a common goal. That is why miscommunication is a big threat to the success of a team. Poor information dissemination and organization can lead to confusion and failure to meet deadline.
What to do: Conduct regular meetings. As Mina Chang, CEO of Linking the World said, a successful businesses needs personal connections. This can be built through meetings. She emphasizes how it avoids miscommunication, improves engagement, and boosts coordination. If needed, you can apply online collaboration tools for more efficient communication process.
Weak Leadership
Leaders are supposed to be firm, decisive and empowering. They can also motivate their members without imposing or domineering. But certain factors, like pressure, lack of skills, improper management styles, and biases can make team leaders weak.
What to do: Leaders should also be assessed not just the members. An effective team leader should learn to empathize with his teammates to improve camaraderie and not just command and control his members.
Groupthink
Irving Janis proposed the Groupthink theory in 1971. This communication model tells about systematic errors made by a group if they make a collective decision. In a group discussion, members tend to follow opinions from domineering members of the group, resulting to a less diversified and creative plan.
What to do: Assign a devil’s advocate to give various ideas. Thoughts made by devil’s advocates give different perspectives to the primary plan. This helps improve your work, avoid mistakes, and prepare for errors.
Productivity Decay
Productivity normally weakens the longer members work on a project. It is wise to deal with this problem at once, or it will affect the work quality of the team. It is also difficult to meet deadlines when members are uncooperative.
What to do: Team building exercises are great way to improve teamwork. It also gives workers a break from the monotony of their job, which will motivate them to deliver better results. David W. Ballard head of APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program shares five simple but effective team building activities: volunteering, sports activities, field trips, shared meals and workshops. Bestessays also provide effective productivity techniques that you can apply top your team. Some of them are the Pomodoro, Pareto principle and Eisenhower principle.
Failure to Tackle Poor Performance
There is always one member of a group who does not perform well. It is okay. But if you let his lousy performance slide, it can be a dead weight to the success of the team.
What to do: You should monitor each member’s performance and talk to those who are not working according to the team expected standards. Also offer effective success coaching techniques to maximize member’s potentials.
Geographical Differences of Team Members
This threat is common among remote teams who work in different locations. Aside from internet connection issues, time zones are also a big hindrance in making the team successful. Cultures and beliefs can also crash, especially when members are from different countries.
What to do: Constantly communicate with your team through group chats and video meetings. At the start of a project introduce them properly and make sure they understand any cultural differences. Make them at ease with one another and make sure they know each other’s contact details.
It is typical for a group to encounter problems that will hinder their productivity but you can beat these threats by being open minded and understanding. Set aside differences and work as one. Remember, each member of the group is important to achieve the company’s success.
About the Author: Maddy Bertelsen is a blogger and writer, who is working as a marketing associate. When not busy with work, she usually stays at home, or in a coffee shop, reading her favorite books.
nice post