Fix Your Team: The Tools You Need to Rebuild Relationships, Address Conflict and Stop Destructive Behaviours

224 Pages·2018·1.5 MB·English

by  Rose Bryant-Smith & Gervis Beard

This readable book includes astute analysis and practical tools developed by
leading specialists with much experience of fixing teams. It is welcome and
timely, especially as there are so many work teams that are dysfunctional.
Fixing them would benefit all concerned.
— Professor Greg J. Bamber, Monash Business School, Monash University
In today’s busy workplace, the need to work productively and harmoniously
with others is critical, but not always the reality. Fix Your Team explores the
common dysfunctions that can derail your team’s effectiveness, and provides
practical solutions to move your team dynamic from dysfunctional to
functional. Make some time to Fix Your Team.
— Dermot Crowley, author of Smart Work and Smart Teams and founder of
Adapt Productivity
Fix Your Team is a very well organized, step-by-step guide for anyone who
wants to improve their workplace and team dynamics, regardless of the size
of their organization. From toxic personalities and reluctant or abrasive
managers, to downsizing and overtime, the authors tackle every imaginable
issue and break them down into manageable bites of what to do. Rose Bryant-
Smith and Grevis Beard pack decades of experience into this very practical
guidebook.
— Bill Eddy, training director, High Conflict Institute, and author of 5 Types
of People Who Can Ruin Your Life: Identifying and Dealing with Narcissists,
Sociopaths and Other High-Conflict Personalities
A wonderfully practical and informative tool for leaders, with helpful
examples and case studies that will really guide you through the difficult
scenarios we see on a daily basis, not just the theory!
— Rebecca Fraser, Head of Human Resources, Energy, EnergyAustralia
Finally! A book that addresses the most commonplace issues impacting team
dynamics and effectiveness … and delivered with logic and humour. Rose
and Grevis are to be congratulated on clearly identifying both the problems
AND the solutions.
— Cath Gillard, Executive Director, People & Culture, Australian Red
Cross Blood Service
In today’s competitive environment, organisations need to bring out the best
in everyone. Fix Your Team is a definitive guide for all those on the front line
— managers, human resources, risk, legal and other internal advisors — to
get employees working with, and not against, each other. With actionable
guidance on building buy-in, executing the strategy and staying the course in
tough times, Fix Your Team is an essential read.
— Christina Gillies, independent company director and Chair of the
Victorian Council of the International Women’s Forum
There is a lot of preaching about the value of teams at work – but it’s not
always backed up with practice. Here’s a book that locates the most common
problems and helps you and your team fix them. A clearly written handbook
that will help you and your colleagues realise their true potential.
— Rob Goffee, Emeritus Professor, Organisational Behaviour, London
Business School
Fix Your Team offers a comprehensive guide to the problems faced by those
managing a team. The authors’ experience and expertise are apparent in the
detailed analysis of underlying problems and practical advice to resolve them.
Every manager will find value in these pages.
— Nick Grant, Director of Human Resources, Australia, K&L Gates
This book will be a critical read for all managers and professionals looking to
build a thriving team. It’s easy to find a book to tell you how to build a great
team, but there are not many that so effectively and pragmatically help you to
eliminate the dysfunction and barriers that will prevent you from even
starting to thrive! Read it all, or dip into it when you see dysfunction — either
way, you will find real and practical help.
— Aaron Lamers, Human Resources Director Northern Europe, General
Mills
Managing your team has just become a whole lot easier with this book. Fix
Your Team is a compelling guide to realising your team’s full potential. The
authors advance specific team goals and offer a myriad of suggestions,
including fun team activities, on how to achieve this. This book is a must-
have reference for all team managers.
— Isabel Metz, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Melbourne Business
School
A must read for anyone despairing of the dysfunctional team they have
joined, inherited or hired. Fix Your Team is the practical guide for leaders,
managers and employees that provides realistic solutions to seemingly
impossible team dysfunctionality. The Fix Your Team Toolkit will help you
shift the dysfunction and build team morale, values and good behaviours.
— Kimberley Poynton, Head of Human Resources, Ivanhoe Grammar
School
When teams work well, they work very very well, and when they don’t, they
are horrid. If you ever need help with improving your team’s dynamics, then
this book is the one for you. It is the ‘one stop shop’ for unearthing what’s
going wrong, identifying the ways forward, and implementing the necessary
solutions.
— Chris Roussos, Executive Director, People & Corporate Support, St
Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne
Fix Your Team is the tool that many team leaders have been wanting. For
many years, I have written and spoken about organisational culture. Every
team, no matter how big or small, has a culture. The team leader is pivotal in
setting in that culture. Where can a team leader start in assessing and
improving the team’s culture? Reading Fix Your Team is the ideal starting
point.
— Neville Tiffen, specialist consultant in business integrity, corporate
governance and compliance, member OECD Secretary-General’s high level
advisory group on integrity and anti-corruption
Teams outperform individuals when they work well together! Fix Your Team
identifies common team dysfunctions then offers 14 insightful, tailored and
specific tools to overcome them. Anyone on any team would be well served
by accessing these insights.
— Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business,
University of Michigan

First published in 2018 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064
Office also in Melbourne © John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2018
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair
dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written
permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.
Cover design by Wiley
Cover image and internal illustrations © Flipser/Shutterstock
Disclaimer
Although based on aspects of actual complaints, conflicts and team dysfunction we have resolved in our
professional work, no character, situation or organisation described in this book represents any real person,
situation or organisation. The contents of this book are provided as general information only. We
recommend seeking advice from a qualified lawyer before acting on any matter with legal implications.
The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent
professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it
should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it
covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To
the maximum extent permitted by law, the authors and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to
any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the
information in this publication.
To the team at Worklogic. Every day you demonstrate accountability, integrity,
confidence, wisdom and joy. Every day you innovate and collaborate to build
happy, healthy, productive workplaces across Australia. Worklogic is the best
team we know.
CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
PART I WHAT IS GOING ON?
CHAPTER 1 GOSSIP CULTURE
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 2 UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 3 TOXIC PERSONALITIES
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 4 PERSONAL CRISIS
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 5 WORKPLACE ROMANCE
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 6 FAMILY TIES
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 7 LACK OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 8 UNRESOLVED HISTORICAL ISSUE
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 9 THE MANAGER’S STYLE
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 10 UNHEALTHY COMPETITION
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 11 NO CLARITY, NO ACCOUNTABILITY
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
CHAPTER 12 OVERWORK
WHAT’S GOING ON
IMPACT ON THE TEAM
PART II THE FIX YOUR TEAM TOOLKIT
CHAPTER 13 WHERE TO START
INDIVIDUAL DYNAMICS, CONTEXT AND CULTURE
IS THE ‘SURFACE’ PROBLEM HIDING THE REAL PROBLEM?
IS MORE THAN ONE PROBLEM AT PLAY?
DO YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION?
WHAT IF THE WHOLE ORGANISATION IS BROKEN?
THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET
CHOOSING THE INTERVENTIONS
CHAPTER 14 THE FIX: ADDRESS UNHEALTHY CONFLICT
TOOL #1 TRAIN EVERYONE TO HAVE IMPORTANT
CONVERSATIONS
TOOL #2 OFFER FACILITATED DISCUSSION, MEDIATION OR
CONFLICT COACHING
CHAPTER 15 THE FIX: ADDRESS UNCONSTRUCTIVE
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR
TOOL #3 COUNSEL THE BAD APPLE OR UNPROFESSIONAL
TEAM MEMBER
TOOL #4 GET THE ORGANISATION TO INVESTIGATE THE
APPARENT MISCONDUCT AND DISCIPLINE THE
WRONGDOER
CHAPTER 16 THE FIX: DEVELOP THE TEAM’S CHARACTER
AND CONNECTIONS
TOOL #5 NEXT HIRE
TOOL #6 DEVELOP SELF-REFLECTION IN THE WHOLE
TEAM
TOOL #7 BUILD THE TEAM’S CONNECTIONS
CHAPTER 17 THE FIX: ALIGN WITH VALUES
TOOL #8 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES
TOOL #9 MAKE SURE THE ORGANISATION’S VALUES AND
BEHAVIOURAL EXPECTATIONS ARE KNOWN, CLEAR,
UNDERSTOOD AND REAL
TOOL #10 BUILD A CULTURE OF FEEDBACK
CHAPTER 18 THE FIX: DEVELOP LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
TOOL #11 TRAIN THE MANAGER
TOOL #12 ENSURE CLARITY — HOLD PEOPLE
ACCOUNTABLE!
CHAPTER 19 THE FIX: CARE FOR EACH OTHER
TOOL #13 SUPPORT THE TEAM THROUGH PERSONAL
CRISES AND CHALLENGES
TOOL #14 DEALING WITH OVERWORK
PART III MAKING IT WORK
CHAPTER 20 CREATE A PROJECT PLAN
WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN TRIED?
TIMING AND SEQUENCE OF STEPS
USING INTERNAL RESOURCES AND DO-IT-YOURSELF
HOW YOU WILL MEASURE SUCCESS
CHAPTER 21 BUILD A BUSINESS CASE
SOCIALISE THE ISSUE FIRST