Team Culture matters. It matters big. Someone can recreate your product, but if they cannot recreate your culture behind its success it is unlikely they will beat you in the field. Of course if they have a more constructive culture well they may just whip the rug out under your feet.
One of the greatest impacts on team culture is not external but internal; from
the very members themselves. Every now and again you are going to find that you
have a Toxic Teammate. Like a poorly maintained commuter omnibus this
individual spews toxic fumes through your team via their words and behaviour.
Left unchecked they can pollute those around them and derail your efforts.
The Critic as their name implies criticises everything. I
mean everything. They are incredibly negative with nothing good to say about
work, business, or the world in general. Every suggestion gets shut down by
fault finding, every circumstance is a disaster and if they had their way we
should all stay in bed every day because life is a miserable failure. Except of
course that if you stay in bed you may choke on your pillow. There is no
pleasing these people. Overtime their negativity infects others who in turn start
failing to see any silver lining.
The Passive sits in the corner, unengaged, disconnected, and waits. They offer no input, wait to be volunteered, and have no motivation.
They may go as far as fiddling with their phone or tablet during the meeting
and if they were not there, well no one would miss them.
The Blamer, as opposed to The Passive, is often eager to
volunteer. He promises high but rarely delivers. When he fails to perform
somehow it is never his fault. There is always an excuse and some circumstance
to blame for his laziness and ineptitude. What is worse is that he genuinely believes
the excuses-he is not making them up. If he can get away with it, others will
think they can too.
The Know-it-all never shuts up. This is the Deadpool of the
team, just not as funny. Their opinion on how we should do it is broadcast
loudly and incessantly. They offer help that is unsolicited but inappropriate.
Often they do not have the expertise or skill to back up what they are saying.
These are the characters that when they open their mouth in a meeting, and they
will, that everyone groans inwardly. They believe they are helping, that they
are useful yet often they are a distraction. Their inability to filter their
input means that anything truly meaningful they say gets lost in the babble.
The Captain of the World is the pedantic rule bearer. They
follow a complex set of laws that cannot be bent or changed. Say you get to the
canteen and there is no one else there. Instead of going through the long set
of railings that keep the usual queues in order you pop underneath them to get
to the front. The Captain of the World is the person who complains and insists
you go through them. These are people unwilling to change. They are motivated
by a deep internal fear that something will go wrong and project this onto
everyone else.
Each type of Toxic Teammate needs to be dealt with. For many
of us, we occasionally portray some of the behaviours outlined above. It is
unlikely that most Toxics start out that way, they develop overtime as
dissolution, laziness and entitlement creep into their mind-set.
Be on your guard for such behaviour in your life and in
those of your teammates. Call out negative behaviour. Reward the positive. In
calling it out, start by doing so privately. Deal with any root issues or
circumstances that may have changed and caused a rise in the toxicity level. If
it persists then you may need to have a more aggressive approach.
Act! Do not wait. Toxic behaviour spreads if not managed. Remove
the Critic. Find a way to engage The Passive, consider moving them to another
team or role that they are passionate about. Call the Blamer to account. Give
the Know-it-all strict guidelines and parameters of operation. Get the Captain
of the World to relinquish his title (or put them in charge of your Health and Safety
Program where their pettiness may be useful).
We are all happier without toxic pollution in our lives and
in our teams. Teams are made up of real people, with real issues. Facing them
can be messy but it is far easier to plug a hole in a leaking barrel early than
it is to clean up an entire oil spill.
No comments:
Post a Comment