One of the toughest tasks in management is fixing
dysfunctional or unproductive teams. A recent article by
Anne Field in the Harvard Business Review provides some
practical tips to overcome this challenge.
She suggests clarifying a teams purpose as the first step towards
building trust and team cohesion. To help start the recovery, team
members individually are asked five questions. From there the
overall responses are shared with the whole team.
The five questions are:
* In earlier teams you've worked on, what did you do that
you felt made an impact on the team's work?
* What are you accountable for on this team?
* What do you see standing in your way?
* What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
* What's going to make you proud when this project is
completed?
Reference: Harvard Management Update - March 2009, Volume 14,
No.3.'Diagnosing and Fixing Dysfunctional Teams'
by Anne Field