Fix Your Team

Chapter 16 THE FIX: DEVELOP THE TEAM’S CHARACTER AND CONNECTIONS

DEVELOP ETHICAL CHARACTER AND A SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

The Tools in this section are designed to build the team members’ skills in self-reflection, mindfulness, autonomy and ability to relate to one another. It includes practical ways to think about strategic recruitment and run team-building activities.

TOOL #5 NEXT HIRE

Sometimes the mix of people in the team is just not quite right; the balance is off. Either there is a very strong influence that is pulling the team in a direction it doesn’t want to go, or there is something missing, in skills, demographics, roles or ways of operating.

We all know what a significant difference one new person can make to a team’s culture and operating style. When an opportunity arises to recruit or transfer someone new into the team, take advantage of it. Use the process for selecting the new hire strategically to nudge the team to be more functional. Yes, it’s only one person in a team of many, and one person can’t singlehandedly correct a dysfunctional dynamic, but they can make a noticeable difference.

If the team is skewed in its values …

You might have one strong personality in the team who is corrupting the team’s dynamic — such as a Bad Apple (chapter 3) or a racist (chapter 7) — and no one strong enough to offer an alternative for how the team engages with each other ...