By Francis Wade
Executives who spend time and money on team-building retreats are often dismayed to find that they do little to solve real problems. The trust exercises, rope ladders, hoops and paintballs don't do the trick, even though the facilitators receive high marks and the staff seems happier than before.
The problem isn't in the use of games, outdoor activities and physical challenges which are all effective methods for certain kinds of learning.
Instead, the fault lies in the initial diagnosis, in which managers overrate their ability to understand their team's issues. Despite their best intentions, executives are often weak at seeing the deeper source of problems around them. Here are the reasons why:
1. Unable to Start with the 'Man in the Mirror'
Michael Jackson said it well in his famous song in which he implied that global change must start with each person. From my experience, executives who have spent years convincing others that they are right have a hard time looking for their own faults, and finding their individual contribution to organisational problems.
It takes real courage to live at that level of responsibility, but top executives wield tremendous power in Jamaican organisations, and every new insight they have can result in multimillion dollar gains. Also, this kind of self-reflection allows a reversal in the natural myopia that affects company leaders who aren't used to getting consistent, quality feedback from any source in their lives.
2. Too Willing to Blame Others
As the biblical teachings of Jesus implied, it's easy to see the faults in others and to overlook one's own shortcomings. Many executives spend too much time discussing and dissecting the faults of others, with little or no intention to actually have conversations that might make a difference. Over time, they convince themselves that their observations are real, and start acting as if they have no choice but to intervene, sending staff away for extra training, assigning them coaches and asking Human Resources to intervene.
In the worst cases, they arrange all the 'help' for others, deliberately leaving themselves out of the picture. They mistakenly think that they don't need to examine themselves, which only leaves staff resenting the fact that the biggest culprit has gotten away scot-free.
3. Unable to See Patterns
One of the benefits to be gained from working in different industries, with a variety of professionals, is that it becomes easier to recognise patterns of dysfunctional behaviour. When executives lack broad exposure, however, they often make the mistake of misdiagnosing the issue at hand, and calling for the wrong solution. Team building' is a solution that many apply to all manner of ills, and it's fast becoming the castor oil of contemporary corporate life — just use a little here and there and all the problems will go away.
Unfortunately, this approach rarely works as the problems of a dysfunctional team can't be solved by simply issuing RFP's for team building.
AVOIDING THE TRAP
The answer to these shortcomings is to be clear about the right set of habits, practices and rituals that need to be implemented. When executives talk about better teamwork, culture change, and new values, they often do so with a startling lack of precision.
The change they want becomes a vague mish-mash of expectations that no team-building event can ever fulfill. It takes a certain finely honed skill to convert persistent complaints by team members into new trainable behaviors, and most executives aren't equipped to do that kind of diagnosis.
Even if the new behaviors are clear, most team-building efforts have nothing to do with re-learning, practicing and reinforcing job-related behaviors. Instead, their emphasis on social and physical activities makes it easier for the team to eat, drink, and spend time together, but offers little in the communication, leadership, and coaching skills that might actually be lacking.
The principle is straightforward - use the team-building event to teach and practice behaviours that are badly needed on the job, and follow up with regular rounds of feedback that's tailored to each person's level of skill.
Include everyone, including the top executives, and make sure that they get the first taste of any medicine that's administered.
Article originally appeared in The Gleaner of Jamaica, Wi.
