About a month ago I asked the question on several LinkedIn Groups “What is so difficult about teamwork?” I received well over 200 responses. My intention was to rank each of them and then figure out ways we can create better teamwork.
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. You can review the post and comments by clicking here.
Today we will discuss obstacle number Seven – “Lack of spending time together as a team.”
- Lack of a competent leader (27)
- Lack of goals and goal alignment (26)
- Individuals focused on themselves and not the team (21)
- Lack of understanding of team members (20)
- Lack of clarity on team roles, and/or the purpose and vision of the team (15)
- Lack of focus on team rewards and appreciation (12)
- Lack of spending time together as a team (9)
- Poor communication (8)
- Lack of trust (7)
- Lack of accountability (6)
How about this: “Teams that play together, stay together?” Okay a little corny I admit, but true, isn’t it? Teams that spend time together are better for it. Why? One of the key components to team trust is that team members understand one another. They trust each others intentions and actions. In order to build that trust, teams must spend time as a team.
The question I have is what constitutes quality time as a team? Should it always be business related? Is team building (ropes courses for example) really that effective? What has your experience shown?
By the way, in Thursday’s blog I will relate something I have discovered the last few weeks in my family that is also applicable to teams. The article is titled “How do leaders get employees and others to snuggle up?”
Mike Rogers
Also, follow our teamwork discussions and writings on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2232816/
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/secondgleader
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123580326937
