Last week we got one of the biggest page views and responses we ever received on our blog to the post “Lack of focus on team rewards and appreciation.” Barrier number six on our top ten list. Today we will discuss obstacle number Seven – “Lack of spending time together as a team.”

I have seen this with teams that I have developed over the years. The leader with good intentions decides that he or she will begin to introduce competition among the team. So individual productivity based rewards are introduced to the team based as a way to drum up “healthy” competition. What the leader gets instead are team members not willing to give help, ask for help, provide best practices etc… Much like many of the team based reality games on television today like the “Biggest Loser” or “Survivor” team members will turn on teammates if it means they might win the game.

Lack of clarity on team roles, and/or the purpose and vision of the team is an often common barrier to team effectiveness. When teams encounter this barrier they are less likely to have much passion, let alone commitment to the team.

I personally believe that lack of understanding team members should probably be number one if not a close second in the rankings. With lack of understanding comes lack of trust. When there is a lack of trust on the team there will be focus on anything but the issues during team conflict, which will create all kinds of inefficiencies on the team. What do you think? What have you done on your teams to increase understanding among team members?