Teams: 8 things that can go wrong.
Nº 5. Personality clashes
Sometimes, two team members dislike each other a lot. They cannot communicate without generating friction with each other, or they need to work in completely environments. One needs structure, processes and reflection, while the other prefers spontaneity, noise and debate. Both may needed in a particular team.
If you are the team leader, the first thing to do is find out the cause. If it is a conflict of interests or has historical roots, then go back to number 4 and look at the suggestions.
If it is a question of temperament, then try the following:
- talk to each person individually, outside of the team context, and see what suggestions they have to move forward.
- define their roles and resposibilities as clearly and as separately as possible.
- help them to stay out of each other's way, without disrupting the team. Take some practical steps: make sure their desks are not too close together, if you have social events, don't make too intimate
Very few team objectives are impossible to achieve just because a couple of people don't like each other. Taking a "softly, softly" approach can allow mutual respect to develop, even if personal friendship remains out of the question.
We will look at the remaining 3 problems in future newsletters. This information and advice is focused on team working, but is also of much wider application in our day-to-day lives.
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