When Teams Get Stuck

Teams are formed to accomplish a common objective. Wisdom says that a group operating as a team is more powerful than that same collection of individuals.

So, why and when do teams get stuck? Often, it’s internal politics. When a team gets mired down with personal agendas it can actually move more slowly than an individual acting alone.

Are internal politics inevitable on a team? To a degree, yes. The coaching challenge is to acknowledge, without indulging, the jockeying for position among team members, and to minimize disruption to the common objective.

Example: an architectural firm had the opportunity to present a design proposal for a high-profile office tower. There were six people on the presentation team. The team objective was to win the job at a price not less than 90% of the company’s usual profit margin. However, there were several “sub-agendas” in play.

The process of assembling an award-winning proposal continued to flounder. The Vice President called the company’s coach for some fresh perspective

These were the steps taken:

1. The Vice President was asked to step back to a final review role only. This step allowed him to still have input, but at a level from which the team could most benefit from his senior experience.
2. The four staff people were to create two design scenarios, and price both. One was to be very high profile (to demonstrate the firm’s capabilities) and the other to be a model of “value engineering” (to ensure a competitive bid).
3. The marketing manager was asked to package the two designs into one presentation. She was given a free hand in writing the proposal and creating the presentation.
4. A timeline was set for each task, with two final team meetings before the client presentation. This gave the VP and staff the opportunity for input and review of the draft presentation. The VP also had a final shot at the pricing.
5. The team offered themselves a group incentive. They would, as a team, enjoy a champagne dinner if they succeeded in winning the job at their profit target. While not back-breaking financially to the company, this increased motivation to set aside personal agendas and refocus on the team goal.

When your team machine is running less than optimally, find out what the sub-agendas are and address them with a team strategy. Support from a coach can move this process along more quickly.

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