10 Common Team Process Problems-And Their Solutions

REFLECTION: FOR STUDENTS: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

FOR ACADEMICS: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton

FOR PROFESSIONALS/PRACTITIONERS: “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” – H.E. Luccock

Foundation

 Issues with successful Teambuilding and team project execution about in the Quality and Management world, so I will give a quick overview of 10 of the most common team process problems, as well as potential solutions to those problems. Good Team Dynamics has a direct correlation with Team productivity and success, so take problem-solving down to the team dynamics level if you want your teams to thrive.

The ten problems I will discuss-

1. Floundering (Failure to Launch or Close)
2. Team members using title or authority to influence the team process flow (stealing empowerment)
3. Team members who talk too much (making other viewpoints hard to voice)
4. Team members who don’t participate enough (leaving potentially valuable input in their heads)
5. Blind acceptance of opinions as facts, or team members making opinions sound like facts.
6. Rushing to a solution or conclusion before a team has conducted the full problem-solving process
7. Damaging Team Dynamics by attempting to explain other members’ motives
8.  Team members ignoring or ridiculing one another’s values statements made
9. Team constantly drifts off the main Agenda and spends too much time on unfocused conversation.
10. Conflict involving personal matters

Solving any of these issues begins with three critical items. First, the team must have a clear written Charter to avoid any disagreement about the actual problem, scope, objectives, and timeline currently on the table. Second, the first meeting should establish meeting ground rules for conduct that can be updated as a group as required. Third, it is best to include a member of the team who’s role is Facilitator. The Facilitator’s purpose is not to become involved in the content of the meeting, but to act to help the team avoid slow progress (or roadblocks) during difficult situations and act as a catalyst for the team while evaluating the team objectives and progress. (Russell T. Westcott, 2014)

The Solutions-

The solutions below are not the only solutions or necessarily the best, just examples of overcoming a problem. 

1. Floundering- The Team Leader or Facilitator should use the Charter to redirect the team to the recorded objectives.
2. Team Member(s) Using Organizational Influence to Influence Team Process- Talk to the member or members attempting to use their power to influence the team off-line. Be certain to clarify the impact of their organizational role and how it may affect the team. Highlight the need for consensus, not agreement out of fear team members might feel repercussions for offering dissenting opinions. Ask for cooperation and patience.
3. Team Members talk too much- Practice a form of Gatekeeping that structures the meetings in a way that requires the entire team to write down their opinion on a topic of discussion. Then the individual views are discussed as a group one opinion at a time. The “talking stick” technique works well also.
4. Team Member reluctant to participate- Once again, a form of Gatekeeping is a good solution when members will not speak up. Lack of input from shyness or intimidation can deprive the team of useful information, so asking each member of the team to speak on the issue will encourage conversation. Direct assignments with the need to report on actions and progress with help foster involvement as well.
5. Blind acceptance of opinions as facts- The best solution to this is to respectfully challenge a view being presented as fact by asking for the supporting data.
6. Rushing- Remind your Team of the cost (in terms of dollars and lost time) of jumping to the wrong conclusions. Dollars and time carry a lot of weight in decision making.
7. Attempting to explain other members’ motives- Avoid pointing fingers; turn to the person who has had their motives explained, and ask, “would you please clarify that for the team” so that motives do not become accusations. If it becomes a consistent issue, take the offender off-line and ask them to stick to the problems and objective evidence. Adding a Conduct rule is possible if there are team dynamics issues (especially when your pool of team members is small).
8. Ignoring or ridiculing one another’s values or statements made- Listening and understanding should be emphasized to the team. The Team Lead and Facilitator should support the Discounted person or persons. Remind everyone that some ideas seem crazy until they succeed.
9. Digression/tangents- Remind members of the agenda and time estimates. This problem is where a Facilitator is most helpful. Always move the meeting back on track, reminding the Team of the current mission, objectives, and norms established.
10. Conflict-Take real conflict off-line and Reinforce ground rules of conduct.

(Russell T. Westcott, 2014)

Conclusion

These problems within a Team should never be solved with generic solutions, and each team will have such a unique perspective that only your team can answer these problems for you. Still, it must be your team together that solves your internal team process problems, or the main issue your team is facing will continue to go unsolved or ineffectively solved.

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Bibliography

Russell T. Westcott. (2014). The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.