Author: Richard Smith at Richard Smith Associates 

When to use this guide

• When your own team (or one run by a business colleague) feels that it is not functioning well (N.B. It would be rare to succeed in facilitating a team of which you are part. In this case use these notes to help you think through the issues with a colleague or other external facilitator.)
• When there is a disharmony in a team, and people are sniping at each other or forming cliques
• When you are trusted by team members to act as a facilitator to help improve their team process

10 questions to consider when seeking to help a dysfunctional business team
1. Who is in the "team"?
This may sound obvious, but especially in today's fast-moving project environment it's important before trying to intervene in any way to understand the boundaries of the team - and a list of names of those involved is really helpful!

2. Are we really dealing with a team at all?
Questions about the size of the group of people concerned, the extent to which they have common overall goals, and the degree to which individual contribution and shared responsibilities are required to meet those goals (in planning or in execution) will all help you to decide whether you are really dealing with a team. As a guide, true teams most commonly have from two to twelve members; larger groups will almost certainly operate in sub-teams, and dealing with the aggregated group will need different approaches from helping a team.

3. In what way can this group of people be considered a "team"?
We oftern find ourselves thinking in terms of sporting metaphors when we consider business teams. Most people naturally default to team like football or rugby teams, where good results (goals or tries scored or successfully defended) depend on the constant and skilled interaction of a range of talents. In business this is probably true of the "senior team". It may also be true, for example, of a project team running a marketing promotion. But how does this apply to the "sales team", where the results of sales people in different geographical territories are less obviously dependent on such skilled day-to-day interplay? Consider metaphors from tennis (Davis Cup team), golf (Ryder Cup team) or cricket. Is the British Olympic Squad a team, and if so in what way? Thinking about what it means for these models from various sports to act as a "team" may illuminate the legitimate teamwork expectations of the particular business team you are seeking to help.

4. What will be the most appropriate method of data collection?
In order to help a team improve its effectiveness you will need data. This can be collected in a variety of ways. The most effective is probably a series of well-run 'sensing interviews' in which you or another suitably-skilled facilitator talks privately with each member of the team concerned, seeking to understnd the different perspectives and to draw out both common and individual issues, illustrated by real life "for instances". This approach relies largely on the skill, experience and credibility of the facilitator conducting the interviews. Another option is to use one of the proprietary survey questionnaires on team effectiveness. The structure provided by such surveys helps less experienced facilitators feel more comfortable. These and other options are, of course, not mutually exclusive.

5. Will personal style of team members be discussed?
If you plan to use a proprietary instrument such as Belbin's "Interplace", Margerison & McCann's "Team Management Profile" or a team-savvy psychometric like the MBTI you will need to have considered that before contracting with the team. You will also need to ensure that you have the competence (and the license!) to use such materials. Otherwise this can be left as a facilitative decision to be taken during the feedback session (see question 8 below).

6. How will I get the team's 'buy-in'?
The initial invitation to help the team has probably come from teh team's leader. You need a clear contract with the team as a whole for your involvement; this will probably involve attending a regular team meeting and discussing your ideas and proposals with them, dealing with questions and doubts "live" and "up front". Don't offer guarantees as to outcomes - these depend on the team, not on you! What you can offer is yourself - your integrity and your willingness to work for the good of the team.

7. How do I do the data collection?
Use whatever process you and the team have agreed. Make sure that the 'deal' about confidentiality or anonymity is restated and clarified to the satisfaction of each individual as you talk to him/her. This is NOT a trivial point! Particularly ensure that you are clear how you will use any notes you take and any surveys that are completed. And always listen to the mood music as well as to the words. Trust your perceptions of what is going on - but test them directly with people you talk to.

8. How to I provide the team with feedback and help them move on?
Again, in the way you and the team have agreed - often through an off-site day away. Your aims in this event are threefold:
to provide the team with a clear, true reflection of how things are, see through their eyes
to help them talk about and clarify hwo their teamwork is affecting their business purpose
to help them focus on specific actions they will take to improve things (who, by when etc.)

9. How do I deal with any difficult moments that may arise?
You cannot 'protect' the members of this group - who after all work together when you're not there! - from discomfort. Your job is to help each member of the team to speak his or her own truth and to be heard properly by the others in the team. You'll be amazed at the power this has to transform the dynamics of a team. This will require excellent listening and personal integrity on your part. Groups of generally well-motivated adults have a remarkable capacity to find positive ways forward together, given the chance. The key facilitative skill is not getting in the way of this helpful process.

10. How do I ensure that good intentions turn into positive actions?
Be careful - it is the team's job to do that, not yours! However, having contracted with the team as a whole to help it move forward, we tend in the feedback session (see question 8 above) to keep a flipchart list of agreed actions, on which we work to get 'ownership' and timescales. After the event we document thse and send them individually to all the team members present at the event. We also (usually) contract for a 'slot' in a regular team meeting three months or so on; during this we review the team's experience of the process as a whole and ask about progress on actions.

This guide was prepared by Richard Smith, one of the Partners in Richard Smith Associates, a niche consulting practice working with organisations worldwide, helping them to get the best from their people releasing potential, equipping leaders, facilitating change.

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