The good, bad, and ugly about teams

January 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

While it was fun to draw today’s visual about dysfunctional teams (perhaps it was cathartic ;)), I am happy to say there is also good news according to a research study into teamwork by the University of Phoenix. Chad Brooks reports that 95% of people believe teamwork is a critical skill in today’s workplace, but that:

  • 40 percent of those who have worked on a team in the workplace have seen a verbal confrontation among team members, while 15 percent have seen an argument turn physical
  • 40 percent of workers have watched as one team member placed the blame on another for something that went amiss
  • 32 percent have worked with team members who started a rumor about another employee in the group


    • Clearly we can all learn more about healthy teamwork!

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    Filed Under: 30 day challenge, communication, Leadership, teams Tagged With: , , , ,

    10 Reasons We Use Email to Manage Conflict and How to Stop it!

    March 7, 2012 By 1 Comment

    I take a risk with this blog’s video.  I am new to using advanced features in powerpoint and new to converting powerpoint to a video format. I hope you enjoy it (more importantly I hope my point is clear!) and while I am open to feedback, please be gentle 🙂

    More time and energy is wasted on escalating “email wars.” I have been both instigator and hapless recipient. Why do we do this? A few reasons come to mind:

    1. We misread the intent behind the email because so much of the visual and emotional context is missing.
    2. We are stressed and have lost perspective and don’t think we have time to deal with an issue.
    3. We work on a virtual team and so face to face immediate contact isn’t possible (there’s a bit of an excuse here but with technologies like Skype not so much.)
    4. We don’t have a whole lot of emotional intelligence, in particular self and relationship management.
    5. We’re better writers than talkers and there’s a fair bit of satisfaction to be gained from a brilliantly (albeit destructively) worded email.
    6. We’re procrastinators and it’s more interesting to engage in an email war than get on with a really difficult project.
    7. We read meaning into an email (whether real or imagined is not important) about our overall competence or identity and feel a need to come to our own defense.
    8. We’ve been avoiding a difficult conversation with someone for some time and seize the opportunity to be righteous.
    9. We poked at wasp’s nests as kids and the pattern is still alive and well and thriving.
    10. We’re cowards, willing to put something in an email, but not address an issue face to face.

    Outside of #9, I think I’ve been guilty of all of these although in the last few years I have learned some skills. Here’s what I try to do:

    BREATHE … Breathe, Resist (React), Explore, Alternatives, Time, Honest, Expression

    Put together … Breathe, resist the urge to react, explore alternative interpretations, take time before responding, take an honest look at your motivations and come up with an authentic and positive expression … whether that is heading down the hallway and having a face to face chat or asking your colleague halfway across the world for a skype call the next convenient time.

    Oh, and BTW, BREATHE works if you are instigator or hapless recipient 🙂

    This blog is based on the 3 of Diamonds, Don’t Use Email to Manage Conflict, from our Teamwork Explorer. Written by Tammy

    Filed Under: communication, teams Tagged With: , , ,