Is Your Team Training Hitting the Mark? Most business leaders understand that there are significant performance gains to be achieved through teamwork, and yet few organizations have succeeded in getting the results they hoped for. We believe that one of the reasons teams fail to achieve their potential is the type of training they typically receive.

Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith state in their best-selling book The Wisdom of Teams:

"Team performance is a fact, not a fad. Unfortunately, so is team frustration and failure. Team training efforts continue to miss the target by focusing on togetherness, open communication and interpersonal dynamics rather than simply getting the basics right."

So if togetherness, open communication and interpersonal dynamics (which form the basis of much of the team development training offered) are not the basics, what are?

Being a Team Member is a Part-Time Role

The first thing to understand is that most teams are not full time teams. In fact, it is very much a part time role. Team members are selected for their knowledge and expertise, and their primary role is to fulfill their individual responsibilities. Yet one could get the impression from much of the team training being delivered, that you have to be team members all the time!

Some team members resist participating in teams because they don't see the "team member" role as distinct from their functional role. This perception often leads to conflict in team discussions as individuals argue from their own position rather than looking at issues from the perspective of the team as a whole.

Behavioral Adaptability is an Essential Skill

Effective teamwork cannot be achieved unless individuals understand the need to switch from one role to the other. To be effective at switching roles, the team member first needs to have the flexibility of mind to mentally switch roles. Secondly, they must have the behavioral adaptability to effectively perform both roles.

Behavioral adaptability requires a high degree of emotional intelligence, which we know can be learned. But it takes time. The emotional competencies of Self-Awareness and Self-Management are essential as we increase awareness of the need to excel in two roles requiring different behaviors, and then begin the process of learning to adapt to new habits.

The Motivation to be a Team

Another basic fundamental is that teams must have a significant reason for being a team. If it is not really important to the team members, why would they go through the discomfort and effort to adapt their behavior?

One of the first things an effective team training program will do is help the team identify and establish their Team Performance Challenge. Once they have agreed on an objective that is meaningful and important to all members, working as a team when they need to will make a lot of sense.

For more information contact us.