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Human Resources Q & A

By Tim Rutledge
July 14, 2008

The question:
I work in a medium sized nonprofit firm with about 20 staff. I believe that working with others involves teamwork and have tried many times, through e-mail and face-to-face discussions, to get others to work on projects on behalf of the organization. Some of the old staff flatly refuse to cooperate and the new staff behave the same. There is a very low level of teamwork and enthusiasm. How can I encourage a team that does not want to work as a team?

Tim's Response:

Here’s a mini-case study with lots of scope for delving into organizational dynamics. First, I need to make some assumptions about the writer’s situation:

1. The writer has the formal authority to initiate projects.
2. The writer is relatively new to the organization.

To begin to answer the question, a needs assessment needs to be carried out. This is the rough equivalent of the doctor asking the patient, ‘Where does it hurt?’ In other words: what is the situation in the organization that will be improved (eliminated, fixed, cured, solved) by the introduction of teamwork? What is the difference between the actual situation and the desired situation? What is the ‘problem’? There needs to be clear answers to these questions. Without it, the organization risks trying to fix something that may not be broken.

Trainers are often approached by well-meaning managers who bring solutions (time management, teamwork, listening skills, etc.) for trainers to implement, without identifying the problem that the solution is supposed to deal with. Everyone agrees that it’s unethical for physicians to apply medical remedies in the absence of medical needs. Managers and trainers also need to abide by the first part of the Hippocratric oath: ‘First, do no harm’. (Don’t make it worse.) Do not implement training in the absence of a training need. Do not implement teamwork in the absence of a situation that teamwork will improve.

What is motivating the desire to introduce teamwork? It seems to be the writer’s personal preferences and values. This is not a good enough reason to change anything. Physicians don’t operate because they enjoy surgery. (Got an appendix? Want it removed?) They operate in order to improve the patient’s health. Like surgery, teamwork is an intervention. The test of the success of surgery is the outcome. Teamwork is no different in this respect.

Why are the employees not embracing teamwork? Because they’re normal human beings! It’s totally normal for people to resist change that isn’t their idea and for which there is no compelling reason for them to comply. We’ve known for many years that adults seek out learning opportunities when they perceive a need to change their behaviour. The converse is also true. Adults don’t look for learning opportunities when they don’t perceive a need for change.

Our writer needs to come at the situation differently:

1. Ask the employees what they do on the job that they consider to be teamwork. The answers might be really interesting. Chances are the employees feel that they’re already teaming.
   
   
2. Ask the employees what they think needs to be different in the workplace. This will cause them to identify needs for change that weren’t somebody else’s ideas. Being given the green light to implement changes that they see as desirable may well cause them to engage in teamwork.
   
   
3. Seek out champions who agree that teamwork is needed. In this particular situation, champions may exist in the ranks of the newer employees. While our writer isn’t specific about this, it’s not hard to infer that the newer employees are taking their cues from the more experienced staff.
   
   
4. If, as I’m assuming, the writer is fairly new to the organization, he/she needs to respect the initiation phase, the ‘dues-paying’ phase of early tenure on the job. The fact that employees are ‘flatly refusing’ to cooperate suggests that they may not believe that the writer has been around long enough to have earned the right to implement change.
   
   
5. Look in the mirror. What’s motivating the wish for teamwork? What do you mean by ‘teamwork’? What does it look like and sound like? If it means ‘work on projects’, that may look and sound like extra work.
   
   
6. According to our writer, employees don’t currently work in teams on projects, and refuse to do so. Two issues for consideration. First, what, in the perception of the employees, are they refusing to do exactly? Second, what organizational improvement will result from working in teams on projects?

The word ‘teamwork’ enjoys favourable status in workplaces today. But working in teams isn’t always the best way to get things done. Surgeons intervene when health improvements won’t otherwise happen; it’s not a first resort. Teamwork should be introduced when an organizational outcome won’t happen otherwise. It’s a means to an end, not an end in itself.

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To submit a question for a future column, or to comment on a previous one, please contact editor@charityvillage.com. No identifying information will appear in this column. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Tim directly.

Tim Rutledge, Ph.D., is a veteran human resources consultant and publisher of Mattanie Press. You can contact him at tim_rutledge@sympatico.ca or visit www.gettingengaged.ca.

Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.

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