Loose bricks

Teams can be amazing and powerful, the whole really can be greater than the sum of the parts when everyone is bought into the goal and performing at a high level to reach it. It’s also true, unfortunately, that when one or more parts aren’t pulling their weight they cause damage to those around them and the whole starts to fall apart. It’s like a wall, which was once strong and impenetrable that has become unstable because of a rot setting in somewhere. Bricks become loose and dislodged by negative influences.

In teams, these negative influences are usually behavioural and can be a result of any number of problems: leadership may be weak, a lack of clarity around who is responsible for what may cause confusion, team members may not trust each other, poor communication can have an enormous impact or there may be unresolved conflicts causing tension.

These seemingly unsurmountable factors are typical of the kinds of issues my clients bring to coaching. Time invested in identifying and unpicking an issue, not looking to blame but seeking out different ways of dealing with it, considering viability and the potential outcome enables my coachees to leave with some very positive ideas and determination to sort it out and make their wall stronger.

If you have loose bricks in your team wall, act now before they become dislodged by these powerful behavioural factors. And consider coaching as an effective way to deal with it and keep your wall strong.

Teams thrive when the wall is maintained and kept strong.