We’ve all heard the saying that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers.
There is some truth to that statement – and some misdirection too (for more on that, read this piece from CultureAmp – https://blog.cultureamp.com/blog/the-biggest-lie-in-hr-people-quit-managers). In my 29 years, I have interviewed thousands of people about why they stay in a role or why they leave. One important factor that is not often talked about in the public domain – and that should not be underestimated – is the importance of team dynamics and team members when it comes to job satisfaction and performance.
Those we work with I refer to as our ‘commercial family’, because many of the same dynamics are at play in our work relationships as they are at home. When you consider that we often spend more time with colleagues than family and friends, these dynamics become all the more critical – not just to high performance but to high alignment, empowerment and retention…in other words, to high culture fit.
Here are some of the key characteristics that have kept surfacing through my years of interviewing as being central to team health.
Interpersonal
One recent situation I came across was where a particular team member had a drastic change in their behaviour that caused fractions within the team. Their team members had no awareness they were facing challenging personal circumstances, and frustrations grew. While you don’t need to know the detail of each person’s life, the reality is that changes out of the office can impact behaviour in the office – and in turn a team’s dynamics. Before this team member took time off to deal with the situation, they gave their team a wise level of insight into some of the difficulties they had been facing. Acknowledging the importance of interpersonal health created a sense of compassion and perspective that eased the frustration and helped to reset the team.
Functional
In one client’s business, they were hiring a couple of people when other team members were away on a major, long-term project. While team growth was successfully achieved, having absent team members meant the whole team struggled to integrate. It temporarily caused the division to have virtually two teams, and that started to impact productivity. When the long-term project finished, in addition to rebuilding interpersonal ties, the whole team had to intentionally focus on how they worked together – their tasks, boundaries and direction – to function successfully as one team.
These are simple ideas that are easily compromised as we get busy. I encourage you to take a step back from your team to see if these qualities are alive and well or if they need some realignment. Consider the health of your teams and whether they are driving value and empowering your organisation’s success.
Related content: The forging of an effective team