When Teamwork is Dreamwork becomes Your Nightmare

Successful teams possess the ability to come at a problem from myriad directions to determine the best course of action.

Projects rarely fail due to technical gaps.  Those gaps are usually recognizable, even if the solution is complex.  

Many teams fail instead because elements of analytical thinking are missing from the group. 

Six Reasons Why Teams Fail

1. Leadership is missing

Not having effective leadership, the work can be unfocused and lacking in accountability.

2. Team members may be risk averse

They lack the problem-solving skills to handle the contexts of risks, ambiguity and uncertainty. Given limited information, they may be reluctant to determine the solution that has the strongest likelihood of success.

3. Weakness in problem analysis

The team is not detail oriented. It may lead to failure to correctly identify the significance and complexity of critical data elements.

4. Unwillingness to cooperate

Being short on tolerance and professionalism can result in some team members’ perspectives  not being considered. This can jeopardize the analysis of optimal solutions. 

5. Close-minded without adaptability

If the team is inflexible, they may not seek out innovation and system changes. This leads to settling on familiar solutions too soon.

6.  Poor motivation and commitment

If the team is uninspired, they will flounder. There will be no one  communicating enthusiasm and inspiring the team members to give their best. 

• Bottom line: the team fails to meet the goal. The team did not include the skills needed to contribute constructively to team problem solving and decision making.

Building skills for effective teams

Our INSIGHT Business toolkit was designed to help with team selection to avoid the above roadblocks. It can also help assemble team members able to learn fast and to perform in situations requiring critical thinking.

INSIGHT supplies the measurement to build teams, assessing individuals as well as group dynamics.  It delivers objective, reliable, statistically valid metrics about specific strengths and weaknesses in 5 essential thinking skills and 10 associated thinking mindsets that drive optimally productive and collaborative groups.

Additionally, the INSIGHT Development Program provides a suite of training modules designed to improve essential critical thinking skills and mindset. These two form the foundation of effective and efficient teamwork.  This program can be integrated within your existing training programs or implemented as a stand-alone tool.  Call us when setting up new project teams or to assess the operational structure of existing teams.

Effective teams think well together.   Contact us, today, to start building your dream team.