Faced with the team equivalent of the Osbournes, what is a trainer to do? Steve Amos says getting to the heart of the problem, along with good preparation and follow-up, is vital.

"While the issues which lead to a team becoming dysfunctional may often look similar, it is important to recognise that every team – like every family – is unique. There is no 'one size fits all' solution for trainers to apply."

The term 'dysfunctional family' is one that we often come across in the media, usually with no clear definition attached. While it is difficult to find a single succinct definition of the term, most include characteristics such as instances of abuse, conflict that is not satisfactorily resolved, and unacceptable behaviour by other family members who are often in denial.

Like families, work-based teams sometimes develop these characteristics. So what does that mean for us as trainers when we're called in to deliver a team development day?

As with most training programmes, effective preparation is key. But whereas the preparation for a generic event is often content-focused, preparation for a team event involves investigating what has been going on within that team.

Often a team development day will be triggered by a single event – perhaps a grievance, a complaint, or a project that goes wrong. Scratch the surface and you will usually find that this event is the culmination of problems that have been simmering below the surface for some time. These may include:

Before running a team development event I like to talk to a cross-section of team members to find out what the issues are for them. Often this will reveal a quite different perspective from that of the team leader, and may highlight issues that need to be tackled outside of the team development day. For example, if team members' comments suggest that the manager has difficulty with handling conflict I will raise that issue with the manager individually, and may recommend that we address it through one-to-one coaching.

While the issues which lead to a team becoming dysfunctional may often look similar, it is important to recognise that every team – like every family – is unique. There is no 'one size fits all' solution for trainers to apply.

It is important to take time to learn about the team – its purpose, its members, its history – and to take all this into account when planning the intervention. Some teams will benefit from a very active day, with learning emerging from working together on practical tasks. Others will benefit from a more cerebral approach, engaging team members' minds to define the team's purpose, or to conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal) analysis.

Another approach may be to bring emotions to the fore, which it may be necessary to address before people feel ready to move on. Sometimes team members will find it difficult to express their feelings in front of their managers, and I often ask managers not to attend the first part of a development day so that the team can express themselves openly.

This approach raises two issues: first confidentiality, and second, how then to reintegrate managers into the team. With regard to confidentiality I will agree with the group that reporting back to managers will focus on the issues raised, and that comments made will not be attributed to individuals. My aim is to help the team to feel confident to raise these issues with their managers themselves, in which case my role becomes one of facilitating that discussion. Within the confines of a single day it is not always possible to reach that point, in which case I will make an explicit agreement with the group as to what their main issues are and what I will say to their managers.

A risk with this latter approach is that managers may then play 'shoot the messenger', and blame you for stirring up trouble within their team! I minimise this risk by agreeing my approach with the team manager at the outset, and highlighting that while it may sometimes be painful, feedback from the people who work for us is very powerful learning.

Most of us who have led teams can probably recall occasions when feedback from team members has caused us to re-evaluate and change our style of management. It is a courageous manager who initiates an event which will generate this feedback.

I find that one of the most powerful tools for making a difference is devising a 'good colleague' profile, which sets out desirable and undesirable behaviours within the team. I draft this with the team near the end of the development day, and they will then take it away and refine it. It then becomes a living document which they can use with colleagues at all levels to express their appreciation of the desired behaviours, and to tackle the undesirable ones. Disputes that previously simmered below the surface, or became formal grievances, can then be resolved quickly and informally by referring to a document for which everyone shares ownership.

Ultimately helping a dysfunctional team to address its issues and become effective is a process, not a single event. The team development day may become the focus, but thorough preparation is essential if it is to be a success. It is then important to follow up – by highlighting action points (in writing) and making contact afterwards to see how team members are feeling, and what has been achieved.

Steve Amos is a senior consultant at SATC. For more information go to its website
Or you can email Steve