overcoming team challenges

When you’re stuck and things aren’t working or feeling as they should, addressing and overcoming team challenges can feel daunting. It’s also important to recognise that when you’re working with people it’s usual to experience some irritation and frustration. And to find some differences in style and personality challenging. It’s part of being in relationship and manageable in most situations.

But the world is increasingly demanding, making it more difficult to become a high performing team. Change and complexity add stress, threaten and deskill people. Elevating team challenges to where they can become toxic, overwhelming and unmanageable. To a point where damage is done to individual and organisational health. Left unaddressed morale, brand and reputation become damaged.

Overcoming team challenges is possible and addressing them could be just what you need. We are team and organisational development specialists with the experience, skills and approach your team needs to get unstuck and move forward in a positive, safe and an engaging way.

If you’re stuck and motivated by a compelling reason to change, get in touch for a conversation about how you can move forward.

15 team Challenges we help overcome

Silos

Rigidly defended functional boundaries: when employees, teams or even departments neither want nor have the means, skills or structures to share resources and collaborate effectively with each other.

Poor Decision Making

Poor or unclear decision-making processes leading to anxiety about future decisions,
undermining confidence at an individual, team and organisational level.

Knowledge Hoarding

Individuals or small groups colluding and guarding knowledge and information to serve their own interests rather than those of the wider organisation.

Poor Communication

Ineffective communication at and between all levels; without awareness of intention,
consideration of context or consciousness of impact. “The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

Conflict Avoidance

Challenging conversations or issues that need to be addressed being intentionally avoided: either as leaders or co-workers.

Unresolved Conflict

Situations where people carry conflict forward and are unable to move beyond historical difficulties with a person, decision or issue – fuelling distraction, mistrust and disengagement.

Negative Gossip

The less-than-helpful ‘water cooler’ conversations, happening informally on the sidelines of the organisation, that are usually personal in nature and damage cooperation and collaboration.

Lack of alignment

Individuals and teams seemingly unable or unwilling to identify shared interests and move towards a common goal.

Lack of Accountability

Individuals or teams seemingly indifferent – showing a lack of ownership of completing
tasks, achieving goals or holding responsibilities associated with their roles.

Burnout

People neglecting their own needs, feeling increasingly under extreme pressure, helpless and unable to influence their situation. Feeling exhausted, empty and unable to cope.

Low Morale

A pervading sense of low positivity, where people are less willing to give their best in their work and peer relationships.

Low Productivity

Fundamental tasks, processes and achievement of outcomes being less than efficient, whether at an individual, team or organisational level. Often regarded as ‘presenteeism’.

Lack of Innovation

Individuals and teams seemingly reluctant to be creative and innovative when considering
ways of working, rather hanging on to “that’s the way we do things around here”.

Absenteeism and High Turnover

The costly process of people simply not engaging with, enjoying or finding satisfaction in their work. Resulting in them choosing to stay away or finding somewhere else to work completely.

Resistance to Change

Overcoming team challenges requires change. But when change is perceived as a threat, subversive behaviours can emerge and undermine change initiatives. And people – leaders in particular – don’t have the skills or awareness to be able to move through the very real human responses to change as it happens.

Silos

Defending functional boundaries, when employees, teams or even departments don’t want or have the means, skills or structures to collaborate effectively with each other.

Poor Decision Making

Poor or unclear decision-making processes leading to anxiety about future decisions, undermining confidence at an individual, team and organisational level.

Knowledge Hoarding

Individuals or small groups colluding and guarding knowledge information to serve their own interests rather than those of the wider organisation.

Poor Communication

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Ineffective communication at and between all levels; without awareness of intention, consideration of context or consciousness of impact.

Conflict Avoidance

Challenging conversations or issues that need to be addressed being intentionally avoided: either as leaders or co-workers.

Unresolved Conflict

Situations where people carry conflict forward and are unable to move beyond historical difficulties with a person, decision or issue – fuelling distraction, mistrust and disengagement.

Negative Gossip

The less-than-helpful ‘water cooler’ conversations, happening informally on the sidelines of the organisation, that are usually personal in nature and damage cooperation and collaboration.

Lack of alignment

Individuals and teams seemingly unable or unwilling to identify shared interests and move towards a common goal.

Lack of Accountability

Individuals or teams seemingly indifferent – showing a lack of ownership of completing tasks, achieving goals or holding responsibilities associated with their roles.

Burnout

People neglecting their own needs, feeling increasingly under extreme pressure, along with a helplessness around how to influence their situation. Leaving them feeling exhausted, empty and unable to cope.

Low Morale

A low positivity situation where people are less willing to give their best in their work and peer relationships.

Low Productivity

Fundamental tasks, processes and achievement of outcomes being less than efficient, whether at an individual, team or organisational level. Often regarded as ‘presenteeism’.

Lack of Innovation

Individuals and teams seem reluctant to be creative and innovative when considering ways of working, rather hanging on to “that’s the way we do things around here”.

High Turnover

The costly process of people simply not engaged and finding satisfaction with their work situation; choosing to stay away, or finding somewhere else to work completely.