Working in Teams Barriers to Success: Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure This material (Comp17_Unit10) was developed by Johns Hopkins University, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under Award Number IU24OC

Barriers to Success: Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure Learning Objectives Recognize key signals of team failure. Use appropriate response mechanisms to address team dysfunction. Facilitate consistent scanning for symptoms of potential team failure. 2 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Five Key Questions 3 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure 1.Living up to their full potential? 2.Meeting the expectations of key stakeholders in the organization? 3.Making any substantial progress toward strategic goals? 4.Causing low employee morale throughout the organization? 5.No luck in getting team to work together?

Team Dysfunction Dysfunctional Team: A team that distrusts other team members, lacks commitment, accountability, and shared goals. Patrick Lencioni – “The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable” 4 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Are We Really a Team? Lencioni’s two fundamental questions: Are we really a team? Set aside personal goals Egos go in the freezer Team for team’s sake Are we ready for heavy lifting? It takes sacrifice & commitment 5 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Causes of Team Dysfunction Absence of trust Fear of conflict Lack of commitment Avoidance of accountability Inattention to results 6 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Team Dysfunction: Absence of Trust Absence of trust: Individuals are unwilling to admit their mistakes Team members are reluctant to let down their guard with one another Team members who throw another “under the bus” Self preservation—looking out for number one 7 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Team Dysfunction Fear of conflict: The team is incapable of engaging in healthy debate Lack of commitment Difficult for team members to commit to decisions Lack of accountability Teams don’t commit to a clear plan of action Inattention to results Team members tend to put their needs ahead of collective goals. 8 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Organizational Structure and Culture When we think of trust, we normally think in terms of reliability: I trust that if I do a then b will occur. I trust that if I ask Ray to work on a project, then he'll get it done on time. I trust that if I assign a work task to Anne, she'll complete it, keeping in mind our company's quality of standards. 9 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Organizational Structure and Culture Is trust easy to build? If so—how? How do you create good intentions, focus on team more than self, remove personal defenses? This comes down to commitment from two areas: –Corporate commitment –Personal commitment 10 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Commitments Corporate commitment – If the decision makers, leaders, and owners of a team don't buy into this, then it doesn't matter. Personal commitment – Trust is a personal commitment ; all are held accountable 11 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Trust If you don't have trust your team will never achieve its top potential. Your team will never achieve the type of goals they might be able to if they didn't have to spend so much time defending themselves or worrying that their ideas and thoughts may be rejected. Trust ultimately starts with each one of the members. 12 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Signs and Symptoms of Team Dysfunction Inattention Tardiness Lapses in communication Missed meetings Missed obligations Gossiping 13 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Symptoms of Dysfunction in Leaders Dictatorial leadership No 360 degree feedback Personal agendas Political compensation Inefficient use of resources 14 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Symptoms of Dysfunction Empire-building practices Unequal workload distribution Top heavy with management Fragmented organizational efforts Too much talk 15 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Symptoms of Dysfunction Ineffective meetings Lack of collaboration Low productivity Constant crisis mode Morale deterioration Backstabbing Highly stressful workplace 16 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Goals for Dysfunctional Teams Truly cohesive teams are obvious. They trust one another. They engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas. They commit to decisions and plans of actions. They hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans. They focus on the achievement of collective results. 17 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Strategies to Manage Dysfunctional Teams Outlining the current state –State your observations with specific examples and express your concerns. –Listen intently. –Create a safe discussion space. –Crystallize the underlying problems. 18 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Strategies to Manage Dysfunctional Teams Moving toward future state –Collaborate on the best solutions. –Seek commitments to be part of the change. –Take the team’s temperature often. –Reach out to disaffected individuals personally. 19 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Strategies to Manage Dysfunctional Teams Model the behavior of best practices Treat team meetings as the most important event on your calendar. Let people know what’s expected of them in advance. Come prepared with an agenda and stick to it. Check in to see how people are doing. Project enthusiasm and energy. Applaud team and individual achievements both large and small. Check in with the team as soon as possible. 20 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Group Think—Another Strategy A, “Road to Abilene,” paradox describes what happens when group collectively decides to do something that no individual in the group really wants to do. The term comes from the Abilene Paradox, demonstrated by the story of a family who decides to travel 53 miles north to Abilene for dinner. On the way back, they begin arguing after realizing that none of them wanted to go in the first place, but no one spoke up. 21 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Lessons Learned from the Road to Abilene Avoid false consensus. Overcome the fear of speaking out. Encourage effective decision-making within a group. 22 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Results/Rewards Expected from Maneuvering a Dysfunctional Team A sustained competitive advantage gained through greater collaboration, improved communication, and a sense of team unity. Improved organizational performance as team members are able to work together toward common goals. Increased employee morale. Reduced employee turnover. A reduction in unproductive interpersonal conflict Increased productivity. 23 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Barriers to Success: Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure Summary Embracing common sense and uncommon levels of discipline and persistence make successful teamwork. By acknowledging the issues and problems of the team members, members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make teamwork so challenging and non- transparent. 24 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure

Barriers to Success: Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure References References Jones. M. Dysfunctional Leadership & Dysfunctional Organization. International Institute of Management. Available from: The Five Dysfunction of a Team Workshop and Training Program. c2005. Available from: Lencioni, P. Conquer Team Dysfunction. The Table Group. c2007. Available from: Settle-Murphy, N. Recognize and address early signs of virtual team dysfunction to avoid irrecoverable problems later. c2006. Available from: 25 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Working in Teams Barriers to Success Reading Early Warning Signs of HIT Team Failure