Sofia didn’t recognize what was going on until Jason joined the team. The group had been chugging along, producing apparently-great work with few problems. Jason was the first new team member in a couple of years, and he shared some surprising observations. For the first time in ages, Sofia began re-examining team dynamics. She discovered that there were misalignments and relationship issues that were keeping them from true high performance.
Long-term teams can think they’ve got it all worked out, but they may have just grown used to the dysfunction. It’s important for all teams to schedule time to focus on how the team is functioning, even if everything seems fine. Start this process by reviewing these questions that help new teams form:
- What resources do we have?
- What do we need to achieve and why?
- Who will do what?
- How will we work together
Teamwork is like baking bread; the right ingredients must be combined in the right way to create a superb product.Sometimes when you change an ingredient (like Jason coming to the team), you find that you need to adjust your tested recipe for best results. Even if you’re not adding someone new, don’t assume that your recipe for teamwork is foolproof over time.