6 subtle signs you might have culture drift 👇
Building a high performing, trusting team culture is simple, though not necessarily easy.
It takes an investment of time, attention and effort to do and do well.
Of course, it is completely worth the effort and the time, and you also need to be realistic about how long it might take to create the right culture that is inclusive, diverse and trusting for all members.
Team Culture Drift
Overtime and without deliberate culture establishment and maintenance protocols in place any team can begin to experience ‘Downward Drift.’ If you’re uncertain how that might show up, here are six subtle signs that your team culture might be drifting towards dysfunction:
Increasing ‘us & them’ language (I often hear the blame language ie: it was HR or IT’s fault).
Turf war between people on projects, resources or recognition (not wanting to share a team member, allow for secondments or give up precious funds for the good of all).
A lack of challenge and push back discussion on new ideas (think of Lencioni’s 5 dysfunctions of a team).
Everything feels like it is in crisis mode and everyone is pushing everyone else (team members shout demands at each other and are critical when someone can’t deliver to their schedule).
Meetings are talk fests with no clear action outcomes (sometimes this can appear as cohesion when everyone is nicey nicey but it can mean a lot of kumbaya).
An inability to make decisions without meetings and all involved (people are scared of the repercussions if they make a decision on something without consulting everyone which means priorities in the team are not clear and understood).
The Importance Of Trust In Teams
Culture drift is often a by product of several key dysfunctions in a team such as those outlined by author, Patrick Lencioni in his book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team". Lencioni identified five common problems that prevent teams from working effectively:
Absence of trust: team members are unwilling to be vulnerable and honest with each other.
Fear of conflict: team members avoid constructive and passionate debate and seek artificial harmony.
Lack of commitment: team members do not fully buy-in to group decisions and create ambiguity.
Avoidance of accountability: team members do not hold each other accountable for their actions and performance.
Inattention to results: team members focus on their own agendas and goals rather than the collective ones.
Creating High Performing, Trusting Teams
There are five key levers I have also identified that a leader can leverage to build a high trust team and overcome these challenges. These include:
When a leader works with their team to have these five levers all working well, it has a profound impact on the team culture and heralds the creation of a vibrant, effective and sustainable team.
In my work with over 25,000 leaders of teams of all varied sizes and in all industries, what I have regularly seen is that if team culture is not set and agreed upon in the beginning then it is always adrift, waxing and waning, moving here and there depending on the changes in team members and manager at the time.
It’s also why I recommend setting the team culture and gaining agreement on what a trusting team looks like upfront – and, even if you have been working together as a team for a while such as in Bruce Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing cycle – then a reset is always valuable.
When you’re in the forming stage or a reset situation you might ask questions such as:
‘What does our team look like at its best?'
‘How do we want to think, act and communicate as a team?’
‘How do we get the best of everyone?’
‘Where are we right now?'
‘What shifts can we make to close the gap and move towards our ideal culture?’
Once the ideal team culture is visualised, verbalised and agreed upon it becomes much easier to have discussions about what the upper ideal and lower limits might look like. For example, when someone is living the team charter or values or not upholding them, it’s much easier to track and discuss drift when we know what the ideal looks like.
Have you ever been in a team with culture drift before? What was that like and was it able to be gotten back on track? I’d love you to share, leave a comment with your thoughts below 👇
Want more free resources and ideas about how to create a great team culture without the drift? Join us in our free group The Leadership Culture Club!