Working with or on a team that isn’t in harmony is rough. An out-of-sync team underperforms and is slow to deliver. Team members are confused about who is working on what and when things are due—if they aren’t already behind schedule—causing further delays in delivery and deployment. Meanwhile, morale continues to erode, resetting and forming a new, lower set of expectations for the team’s capabilities—the new normal.
If the team survives this devolution, it’s likely due to one or two people who’ve taken it upon themselves to overwork and overcompensate for the team’s shortcomings. Their role no longer resembles a job description but an undocumented bulleted list of every problem within the team, especially the unchecked personality quirks that have been allowed to develop.
And when you ask about this person and what they do, the response is often a joke. “That’s Jill—we can’t lose her! Without her, the whole place would fall apart.” Even the team leader or studio owner might chime in with something like, “She’s the real boss around here,” followed by nervous laughter.
As the team continues to decline, a new player often enters the game: the person who latches onto key systems and operations (probably out of necessity, in the absence of leadership) just to keep the lights on. “That’s Jack—he’s indispensable,” because no one knows exactly what he does or how he does it. An opacity forms around their role, which eventually builds lore and redefines their value to the team and the company.
Inside the team, it might feel like things are quirky but functional. Some team members might have the passion to improve, but after running into enough resistance (even just that one time), they give up and focus solely on the work in front of them. Why fight it? Yet, when you talk to individual team members—even the Jills and Jacks—they’ll admit that things could be better. But they believe nothing can change because they lack the title or authority to do anything about it.
This is the creative team nightmare that drains morale, eats into company profit, and damages workplace reputation. But it can be reversed—starting with better communication.
Hey, let's break for a few words from our sponsor. Does this sound familiar? Are you on a team like this right now? If so, and no one else can help, maybe you can hire The Same Team.
In the absence of information, people develop their own assumptions. When the absence of information continues, those assumptions turn into rumors, and rumors become the new "truth." Teams must communicate. It’s as vital to their existence as breathing is to humans. That’s why communication is the foundation of our Teamangle platform (there's some foreshadowing for you).
Healthy, functional, and successful teams require regular time to connect—whether through scheduled meetings or async methods—to focus on communicating between individuals (1:1s), teams, practices or departments, and the company as a whole. The timing isn’t as important as consistency, and these touchpoints should be a top priority. Even if there’s nothing new to share, communicate that instead of canceling. I’m floored by how often meetings get canceled—“time back on your calendars”—because leadership wrongly believes there’s nothing to say. Remember what I said about the dangers of not communicating and assumptions?
There’s so much more to say about this topic, with methods and ideas I want to share. But this is a blog, not a book, so we’ll dive into it in the weeks and months to come. In the meantime, step back and examine your team’s communication practices. Ask some basic questions: Are you meeting regularly? Does the right hand know what the left is doing? Talk to a few folks on your team and ask how they feel about it. Without much effort you’ll likely uncover a few gaps that need filling. Start there.
