What is the consuming conversation in your team?
When you listen to team discussions, do you sense that the conversation is on customers, creating advantage, or debating new opportunities in the marketplace?
Or does the team get wrapped up in internal politics and “functional fencing” with other business departments?
When team conversation and discussion become too internally oriented, they are focusing on what I call artificial challenges.
Teams that have an outward-bound orientation (customers, new opportunities in the marketplace) focus on natural challenges.
Teams that spend too much time on artificial challenges do not perform as well as those that focus on natural challenges.
Teams need to discuss and resolve internal issues; however, high performance teams are conscious of the artificial-natural challenge balance.
If your team is losing energy and power and the atmosphere is not the best, this could be a sign that you are caught up in too many artificial challenges.
Keep your eyes and your ears on the artificial – natural challenges balance in your team.
Image by Albert Shakirov / Alamy (KKPMPO)