After decades working in Minneapolis, Detroit brand consulting groups–and now working in an Indianapolis ad agency, I've seen a wide range of working styles. Here's a description of a work group I recently experienced. Do you recognize it? It's made up of cliques.
One clique is The A Team. They lead and do most of the work. Another clique is The B Team. They are jealous of The A Team and talk about them when they're not around. They also counter The A Team's arguments in group discussions. Yet another clique is The Hiders. They don't engage in discussion and don't step up to do work.
What caused this? Undefined roles within the team. The A Team assumed leadership without discussion. The B Team was angry about that. The Hiders were afraid of the conflict going on in the team.
The solution? The entire team met to clear up the assumptions and bad feelings in the team. Then they decided to redistribute leadership based on individual expertise. They established ground rules of operations too. These included the need for every person on the team to take a leadership role of some kind and to take on personal responsibility for doing their fair share of the work. Consequences for non-compliance were also established.
Today, the team is operating at top levels. The members trust each other. They feel like they are part of a united team that supports each other and is honest with each other. Can you say that for your team?
One clique is The A Team. They lead and do most of the work. Another clique is The B Team. They are jealous of The A Team and talk about them when they're not around. They also counter The A Team's arguments in group discussions. Yet another clique is The Hiders. They don't engage in discussion and don't step up to do work.
What caused this? Undefined roles within the team. The A Team assumed leadership without discussion. The B Team was angry about that. The Hiders were afraid of the conflict going on in the team.
The solution? The entire team met to clear up the assumptions and bad feelings in the team. Then they decided to redistribute leadership based on individual expertise. They established ground rules of operations too. These included the need for every person on the team to take a leadership role of some kind and to take on personal responsibility for doing their fair share of the work. Consequences for non-compliance were also established.
Today, the team is operating at top levels. The members trust each other. They feel like they are part of a united team that supports each other and is honest with each other. Can you say that for your team?
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