Have you ever walked into a business, a fast food restaurant, a bank, and been greeted with, well, nothing? Here are some early signs the business has team problems:
- Employees look disinterested
- No one looks at or acknowledges you
- They all look bored to death
- When you ask for help with a problem, they don’t dive deep with you to really uncover the issues.
As a customer, you can tell from the first moment you see the employees that there’s something wrong at this company.
How do your clients experience your team when they call your business or walk into your facility?
Do you have an employee who “stirs the pot,” or one who does barely enough work to keep his job? Maybe you’ve got one who’s typically sullen and uncooperative or maybe you’ve got the opposite problem—artificial harmony while backbiting at the water cooler.
These are signs that your business could benefit from “teambuilding.”
Teambuilding can mean a lot of different things. It can sound like a fluffy, nice-to-do activity that only large corporations can afford. But I’m finding more and more that biz owners who pay attention to teambuilding get teams who are committed—and committed team members get more done in less time and at less cost.
The good news is that it doesn’t take long to do, it’s doesn’t need to cost a lot, and it gives you a substantial and unique advantage over your competition–because not that many companies do it!
In his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, author, consultant and public speaker Patrick Lencioni makes what I think is a great point–
“…teamwork remains the one sustainable competitive advantage that’s been largely untapped. [It’s] almost always lacking within organizations that fail and often present within those that succeed.”
A low-performing team causes you to lose money in droves. Here are more signs you might need to do some deliberate teambuilding with your team:
- One employee doesn’t know what the other’s doing.
- They don’t trust one another. When Bob in Sales hands his customer off to Lee in Operations, he doesn’t trust that Lee will take good care of the customer.
- They may even be rude and disrespectful to one another.
- There’s unresolved conflict.
- They’re moving slower than molasses and looking bored as all get-out—they’re not committed.
- Their work is sloppy and they don’t have a sense of accountability. They’re just not that into their jobs. And the business suffers because of it.
High-performing teams trust one another. They engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas. They commit to decisions and action plans. They hold one another accountable for delivering on those plans. They focus on the achievement of collective results. And the business prospers because of it.
Lencioni called teamwork “the ultimate competitive advantage.” I’ll teach you how to get this advantage. Attend my webinar “The CEO’s Guide to a Happy Team That Works Faster, Better, and at Less Cost” coming up in August. Details will appear in the next few blogposts.
Could you stand to get more done in less time at less cost?
For expert team building, business analysis, growth planning and more, schedule a FREE, risk-free, obligation-free Potential Discovery session. This isn’t a high-pressure sales opportunity for me – it really is a chance for you to discuss and explore and make an informed decision about how I can add value to your business. Book now.
