WHY TEAMS

FAIL
By: Saloni Maheshwari
Reasons for
their failure
Reasons (1)

Lack of Vision Unclear Roles

Absence of clear and well-communicated Not knowing what you are supposed to do
purpose or vision Cannot decide next steps
Everyone goes in different directions Might end up wasting time
A vision may also get interpreted differently by
everyone
Reasons (2)
Lack of Accountability
Holding people accountable to agreements
Poor results, lack of commitment, lack of trust
Undefined rules and norms may lead to this
Poor Decision Making
Overthink decisions and waste a lot of time 
Not come to a decision at all
Don’t spend time making decisions  impulsive
implementation  either give up later or finish
bruised and wounded
Reasons (3)

Fixed Mindset Lack of Resources

Many assume they cannot improve, change or re-
frame situation
Get stuck at one spot
“if cannot solve an issue using standard
approach, there is no solution”
Not having the right tools, authority and
equipment affects team morale and commitment
Inadequate budget, training or time to do the job
right
Reasons (4)

Lack of effective or shared Poor Dynamics

leadership
If leader behaviour does not meet the Team interaction not productive
developmental level of team  impacts Not enough to be an expert in one’s field
productivity and morale
Distrust amongst themselves
As the team develops, leadership must be shared
Leader not giving up control
 Reasons (5)

Poor Conflict Management Ineffective Problem-solving No Focus on creativity &

skills excellence
Conflicts are inevitable Poor performance if unable to deal Team members should take calculated
Will cause productivity and morale to creatively and effectively with risks
decrease challenges Mistakes should be seen as learning
Differences become struggle for control opportunities
rather than source of innovation
Building an
Effective
Team
 • 4 Important Components

1. Build a • Task
• Clear Boundaries

Real Team • Clearly specified authority to manage

processes
• Membership stability over time
 Defining Destination
helps you get there
2. Compelling
Team
Direction
Importance
Beginning of a Enables teams to
Motivates team
map for collective make detailed
members
success plan
 Members should constructively challenge each other
3. The Right
They should
People • Share views openly
• Listen with respect
• Be willing to learn
• Move collectively towards best solutions

Functional, demographic and other forms of diversity lead

to different perspectives

Must have skills and experience

Behaviour that leads to team success

 • Jeff Bezoz: “two pizzas rule” – a team should
be small enough to eat two large pizzas for

4. A Sound lunch
• Benefit of smaller team

Team • Close interactions - More productive

• Easy to define behaviour norms and rules

Structure • People may fly under the radar in a large team

 • Organization Support is important
5. A • Removing barriers and obstacles, thus
opening up space for growth
Supportive • Positively impacts team performance
• Rewards/recognition, information,
Organizationa education/training

l Context
 “Do your Job”

6. Team • Prioritizes personal accountability

• Builds trust in collective action

Coaching
• “if we all do our jobs and trust in each other, we’ll win”

Can be from someone inside or outside the

team

Can focus on any of these

• Motivation
• Skills
• Behaviour

Why?

• Model best practices

• Communicate how and why of best practices
 https://leadchangegroup.com/8-reasons-w
hy-teams-fail/

References https://allthingstalent.org/2019/04/16/why
-teams-fail-prevent-it/#:~:text=Many%20
teams%20fail%20to%20grow,stuck%20ri
ght%20at%20one%20spot
.

Gallagher, S. M., & Leddy, C. (2017).

Why most teams fail and how yours can
succeed. Influence Success.