- Evaluation apprehension: The fear of being judged causes defensive and obscure communication as well as resistance to learning.
- Social loafing: Abdication of responsibility to “group leaders,” avoidance of accountability; “hiding incompetence,” letting others do the work.
- Playing Politics: Choosing personal power and influence over team effectiveness.
- Indulging in ambiguities: Avoiding needed exploration of the unknown or uncertain in favor of clinging to the familiar. Refusal to think or to act “out of the box.”
- Lip Service: Not taking one’s agreements seriously.
- Gross tolerance of miscommunication: Not listening attentively or respectfully to team members, not speaking with clarity, conciseness, and purpose, covering-up uncertainty and incompetence.
Common Teams Pitfalls
Over the years of working with individuals and teams, IGEOS has identified the major behaviors that undermine team effectiveness. Below are some of the most common pitfalls:
The above individual weaknesses result in the following team pitfalls:
- Polarization: Team members polarize on two opposite positions resulting in decision-making paralysis and/or the withdrawal from participation.
- Detrimental decision: The group agrees to a seriously detrimental course of action that individually none of the team members would have endorsed.
- Group Think: The group seeks consensus to maintain harmony at the expense of effective solutions.
- Fragmentation: When working in sub-teams, allegiance shifts to the sub-team with little or no awareness of overarching goals and impact on others.