Healing Dysfunctional Teams!
“We need help now. Seriously, SOS ! – Solve Our Sh*t-show!”
We have great trust with our partners, so we won’t attribute this quote to anyone, but this wasn’t the first time that we’d heard team dynamics referred to like this. It happens: a perfectly well-performing team, consisting of reasonable, hard-working individuals breaks a little. A change is implemented with no discussion, a team member leaves, another arrives from a different organisational culture, a new manager comes in with new expectations… and suddenly work doesn’t feel good anymore.
And, like when the engine light comes on in your car, when you notice that there is a problem, it’s best to act swiftly. In my experience, it’s usually a straightforward fix. Not an easy fix, or a quick fix, but there are certain interventions that can be introduced straight away to start that repair.
Address the past, present and future
Yes, I’m going to mention Micro-pauses, but I’ll be specific. A Go Slow to Go Fast team repair / reset workshops deals with the past, present and future. We allow participants to talk about the past, examine the present behaviours, and start to look forward to a brighter, more innovative future. Here is an example of how we might design a workshop:
It takes time and effort, but these pauses make a huge difference to diminishing the amount of energy that can be given to disharmony and frustration, instead of all that lovely work that you’re all here to do.
Ready to try?
- For a great exercise to surface past concerns, try the Stinky Fish exercise.
- To examine the present and realign the team, start with our alignment canvas tool
- To focus on a brighter, more innovative future, have a look at The Three Horizons of Growth
Remember, teams get sick, but with a little organisational first aid, teams can heal, and in that healing process can get stronger and perform even better. 🚀
