10.5
DEALING WITH DISTURBANCES
IN WORKGROUPS AND TEAMS
Contributed by Layton Fisher and inspired by a conversation with George F. Harding.Driven by increasing organizational complexity, leadership has come to mean group and team
leadership. Yet it remains baffling to many leaders just how much individuals’ behavior can
change when they interact in a group setting. Perhaps you remember being part of a meeting
or group and working on a task when the group couldn’t seem to get focused: Some people
were bickering, others were goofing off, others were quiet and withdrawn, and still others were
plowing ahead, oblivious to the chaos or apathy around them. This tool will help you become
more skilled in reading and managing group dynamics. It contains a powerful yet simple set
of ideas designed to prevent problems, and to correct problems when they occur.
In any workgroup or team setting, human disturbances take precedence over teamwork
and the task of the group. In addition, these disturbances take precedence in a particular order:
I,then We ,and finally It.
THE I
This means that if Iam disturbed—tired, had an argument at home before coming to the office,
need to go to the washroom, am unclear about the purpose of the meeting, etc.—my distur-
bance will demand my attention. It will take precedence over giving my attention to We, the
group. People will be distracted, thinking about what happened at home, looking at their
watches and waiting for a break, or fumbling through their notes looking for the meeting
notice so they can remember why they are here! People’s energy and creativity, needed to pro-
duce superior results, will not be presentto the group, to the We, until their Idisturbances have
been resolved.
THE WE
If there is a disturbance in the We, the workgroup or team—the agenda is unclear, there’s con-
fusion about who is in charge, there’s leftover tension from a previous meeting, or unhealthy
competition between members, etc.—this disturbance will take precedence over the work—the
It. The Wewill demand people’s attention and prevent focus from being directed toward It, the
task (the purpose for coming together in the first place). People’s energy and creativity, need-
ed to produce superior results, will not be presentto the group until their Weissues have been
resolved.
SECTION 10 TOOLS FORLEADINGTEAMS ANDGROUPS 311