Common Characteristics of Dysfunctional Teams When a group of people join and decide to work together to achieve common goals and objectives, then the group of people coming together is called a team. However, not all groups coming together can be called as teams. They must be united on the common vision, purpose, goals and objectives, as otherwise they remain a group and not a team. The combined efforts of all individual team members are called the team effort or team work. Team working is not Team Building. Team building comes first, but what happens next? Team building is normally the job of top management or leadership. We often forget that the teams are built based on the available resources and not on ideal resources. Once the teams have been formed, people in teams have to understand each other and work together. This is the job of the coach or the team leader. Team working is now seen as the central strategy in all organizations for ensuring adaptability and effectiveness. Established research reveals that teams are only 75% effective as per performance aggregate of the same individuals, working alone. Though this is well known, there is no letting up in team building and a number of permutations and combinations are tried out. This is because the collective efforts of a cohesive team when properly applied and focused is far superior to individual efforts.
Typical and Common Workplace Characteristics of Dysfunctional Teams • There is a very high degree of 'turf wars' between various departments. Every department or function will operate in isolation, focusing only on their own tasks and objectives, even if it means that the company will not benefit by their actions. The main objective is to protect their turf, keep their slates clean and prove others wrong. The inter team meetings will end up acrimonious with respective members blaming or finding fault with each other. In family managed organizations, things can become very nasty with some member walking out of the meetings in a huff.
• The internal communications will be totally absent. Information will not be shared but rather hidden. As business is dynamic and market forces are constantly changing, lack of communication between various departments can lead to considerable problems. The departmental decisions will be taken without consulting other departments about the impact of such decisions on them. The concept of 'internal customers' is alien to them. The top management team will be blissfully living in fools' paradise, pretending that things are hunky dory. Extended and higher credit, beyond discrete limits, will be given to show increased sales. Goods will be dumped. 'Overselling' will take place and they will soon sell themselves out of business. Some lucky and smart distributor or stockist or retailer will get interest free working capital. It will be manna from heaven for him. Receivables will grow like an inflated balloon. Collections will be always below the monthly invoicing. Creditors and Salaries will not be paid in time. Bogus sales will be shown to satisfy their bankers. This means invoices will be raised but there will be no physical delivery. This also means that VAT and other income tax liabilities will increase though the income is not there. This will further increase the pressure on working capital. Sales will demand some products from Production, knowing fully well that there is some problem and it can't be given.
• People will be tense. Morale will be very low. Team spirit will disappear. People will start blaming each other. The departmental heads will be fighting openly. The result of this mismanagement is that the company will go into receivership or bankruptcy. The owners and directors are not bothered, because they have made enough money, when the going was good. They will stop visiting the troubled unit and leave it to the existing people to run the show. In such situations, many people will have their hands in the till. It is free for all. The maxim 'make hay while the sun shines' applies. Good advice of people will not be listened to. In practice such people who tender good advice become the enemies. They will get either neutralized or eliminated. When pressure mounts, external consultants will be called in, not for improving the situation but for firing people using their shoulders. There are plenty of mercenaries around.
Summary & Conclusion The above may appear to be a rather cynical view but unfortunately, is the truth that is applicable to many organizations, irrespective of their size. I have tried to analyze the reasons for this phenomenon over my career. There is only one fundamental reason. It is attitudinal and due to inflated ego in people. Politics and Groupism is unavoidable when a group of people come together to work. Power struggle between members is bound to be there. However, everything should be healthy and the organization should be the least affected. If the top leader or patriarch of the family plays favorites, then it becomes an organizational problem. Since it is generally prevalent, the whole organization becomes fragmented with various factions or groups having different and multiple personal agendas. Unfortunately, it affects the organization in the long run. But who is bothered about the welfare of the organization? If the TMT is dysfunctional, what is the solution? This problem is more prevalent in family managed organizations, irrespective of size, as compared to professionally managed organizations. In professionally managed organizations such members can be easily removed. What do you do in family owned organizations? How do you manage or get rid of such family members who are also part owners? I leave it to you to figure it out.
© Copyright. July 2007. www.madgopes.com. All rights reserved.
To learn more about this author, visit Madhavan T Gopalachary's Website.
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Madhavan T Gopalachary
(Visit Madhavan's Website)
Madhavan Gopalachary, nick name "madgopes"
(g pronounced as in go) given by IIT
classmates, is a Mechanical Engineer and
an alumnus of Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras having passed out
specializing in IC Engines &
Thermodynamics.
He has nearly 35 years of experience in
the Corporate World. He started off as a
trainee and handled sales, marketing,
manufacturing, product management, profit
center management, strategic planning and
corporate development including R & D in
various organizations and at various
levels before becoming a CEO. His last two
professional assignments were at CEO level
before embarking to start management
consultancy business on January 01, 1998.
He has worked for British, Swedish MNCs as
well as very large Indian business houses.
He has spent a large portion of his time
from June 1998 till date in East African
Countries practicing as an independent
Management Consultant.
More details can be obtained at the
following web sites:
mmg.name/
mtg.html
mmgconsu
lting.biz/
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