According to Merriam-Webster Dysfunction means to be impaired or have abnormal functioning. It is also defined it as an abnormal or unhealthy interpersonal behavior or interaction within a group. Both are undesirable circumstances within your business and in your teams, wouldn’t you say?
So, What does Dysfunction look like?
To most Dysfunction looks like poor revenue, profit problems, high turnover, and customer dissatisfaction. That is why it is typical for most “solutions” be about fixing profit and revenue, usually by adding way more cost. Rarely does the solution ever really solve the issue. Solving the symptom can make the real cause much worse. If you really want to dive in and get to the root of dysfunction, you need to look deeper and address the “elephant in the room”. The definition of dysfunction says, “unhealthy interpersonal behavior.” Meaning, you may not have a healthy team. “Unhealthy” looks like this:
- Gossip, Politicking, and Backchannel Conversations
- Finger Pointing and Little to No Accountability
- The Telephone Game “Sally said that Bert said that Martina said….”
- Zero Goal/Metric Achievement
- High Turnover and High Expense
A healthy team is open and honest and willing to be a bit vulnerable. They are completely okay with making mistakes and learning from it. They are ready and willing to grow and spend a lot of time outside of their comfort zone. A healthy team can bring issues to the table and are ready to dig deep to solve them. They are completely okay with having the wrong answer and are willing to support the right one. They act as a team in pursuit of a Championship pennant – willing to work together, own their responsibilities and do what it takes to WIN. Dysfunction does not have a place in a healthy team.
Do you have a bit of Dysfunction in your teams? If you want help identifying it and help removing it, let’s talk! I am happy to help you go from that chaos to complete clarity!
Go to http://www.heightenedleaders.com to schedule your call and learn what Healthy can look like in your business.
