Does your team normalise dysfunctionality?
Teams flounder and fail when they normalise dysfunctionality – when the interpersonal relationships deteriorate into a state of distrust, disrespect, and disregard. In this state, team members become numb to the possibility of it being any different and resign themselves to terminal toxicity.
Whilst rare, this state is real for some teams. Dysfunctional teams I’ve worked with share the following in common, they:
stuck in the habit of blaming and shaming
talk about each other, never to each other
leave conversations with more unsaid than said
form sub-groups that work in opposition to one another
focus on self-interest and self-preservation
Whether teams flounder or flourish, is a choice team members make. Teams flounder because of, and flourish thanks to, the members.
To help teams transition from a state of normalised dysfunctionality, I use the following process to help teams reframe a different reality to access new possibilities. To ensure this process delivers a desired outcome, I strongly suggest it be professionally facilitated:
Acknowledge – the current state. Name it. How do team members collectively feel about the current state?
Affirm – the team’s purpose. For what sake does the team exist? What is the team called on to accomplish, no individual nor group can?
Attend – identify the collective behaviours and mindset that contribute to the dysfunctional state. Be specific so all understand what the undesired behaviours are.
Alert – team members are to ask for feedback and be alert to how their behaviours and approach may be contributing to current dysfunctional state.
Account – team members are to collectively identify desired ways-of-relating and working they unconditionally commit to and be held accountable for.
As a team, it takes as much effort to flounder as it does to flourish. Every choice has consequences. Before you choose, give thought to the possible consequences and then be open to making a different choice.
May you flourish
Bernard