3 situations when team interventions won’t work
Leading a team requires a skill set that is completely different from that of managing direct reports, the people who work directly under you. I have worked for leaders who were great at galvanizing a team but really ineffective one-on-one, and amazing bosses who were terrible team leads.
Actually, most of the people I’ve worked for fall into the second category because leading a team is a complex and difficult task. When things aren’t going well on the team, the common solution is to get people together offsite. The hope is that spending time together, often delving into styles to understand and resolve differences, will fix things.
Team building workshops can be powerful tools to improve working relationships, engagement, alignment and business results – in the right circumstances. But it’s also important to know when not to use a team intervention to try and fix a problem. There are three situations when team interventions are best avoided.
When you have a dysfunctional relationship with one of your direct reports. Team workshops are not the appropriate place for you to try and resolve issues with one person on your team. It’s like deciding to have an argument with your significant other and inviting your family and friends over to watch. I have had to sit in the room when this was in play, and I can tell you how uncomfortable it is. In over 20 years of practice, I have never seen or heard of a situation where a boss-employee relationship was mended as the result of a team intervention. More likely, you will both say things in public you will later regret and the chasm between you will widen. Whatever you need to do to resolve a poisoned relationship, you need to do behind closed doors.