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5. How does the employee problem affect the long-range
   team goal?
   Asking yourself this question will help you put in
   perspective the behavior in question. The answer will
   provide a strong rationale when confronting and
   correcting the offender(s). How? By helping the employee
   see that her behavior matters not because of how it
   matches your ideals as the leader but because of how it
   affects the organization’s potential for success. That’s
   because the organization’s mission or vision results in
   goals. Those goals and objectives reflect principles such
   as teamwork, integrity, respect for people and candid
   communications. Achieving the goals means behaving in
   a way that complements the principles.
   Counterproductive behavior hurts, not just the offender’s
   organizational standing but the organization itself — you,
   the team, everybody. It’s one thing for a team member to
   cost you a game — but that person must understand that
   her behavior can ultimately jeopardize the team’s entire
   season! People do get fired for someone else’s actions.


6. What are the benefits of changed behavior?

What are the benefits of changed behavior to the project,

the policies and to the persons involved? You and your

team members need to know what’s in it for everyone if

the problem goes away. That doesn’t mean you must bribe

a team member into compliance. It merely means showing

the team member the logical conclusion of current vs.

changed behavior. Pulling the entire team into rewarding

change can have long-range, continuous benefits.

For example, failure to stay alert on the job means a faulty

part gets by ... which means a product will not perform

properly ... which means customers’ lives are

compromised or endangered ... which means the

company’s reputation is tainted ... which means sales

plummet ... which means people get laid off.

On the other hand, when faulty parts are caught and

reworked, team quality rises ... consumer loyalty and trust

increase ... sales climb ... people keep their jobs and

bonuses are given! 215

Integrating the Individual and the Team