When Bad Teams Happen to Good People

The teamwork troubleshooter we all need! Turn your team into a cohesive unit.

Why do some team members not get along? What is the best way to get new teams and ad-hoc teams to maximize their performance in the least amount of time? How can meetings be designed to achieve useful outcomes?

Teams are the source of problem-solving and innovation that today’s organizations need to survive and thrive in an increasingly complex and challenging marketplace.

Teamwork is hard because there is no magic formula or step-by-step procedure to ensure results. Think of a programmer asked to develop new features for a cell phone: they write new code, test the code, troubleshoot problems encountered, revise the code, and repeat the testing process until the new features work without problems. Similarly, a team leader asked to deliver specified outcomes develops a plan, runs team meetings, troubleshoots problems encountered, revises the plan, and repeats until the team outcomes are achieved. The difference is that a programmer has tools to help streamline troubleshooting, while team leaders do not―until now.

Valerie Patrick applies a troubleshooting mindset that includes:

• Proven tactics for team members and leaders to address leadership problems


• Guidelines for recruiting and changing teams for optimum performance


• Techniques to identify and address aspects of team climate that are limiting the productivity of one or more team members


• Examples of effective ways to operate teams and of meeting designs that produce transformative outcomes