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Staff performance hit as leaders fail to develop team working

Four in ten managers ‘not resolving conflicts effectively’, finds survey

Half of UK employees feel that their organisation does not help them develop good team working skills, according to research released today.

Although staff understood how their own work contributed to team targets, one-fifth said they had never been in a meeting where team performance was discussed, the survey of 2,000 people by training consultancy Cedar revealed.

The results also suggested room for improvement in the skills of team leaders, as four in ten respondents reported having a manager ‘who does not assist in resolving conflicts’, which in turn had a damaging effect on the team’s overall performance.

Difficult inter-personal relationships within teams also had a marked impact on productivity, with a third of respondents dreading coming into work as the result of a bad team environment and a further third believing a tense atmosphere had an impact on their ability to do their job properly.

Half of those surveyed also said that the biggest office timewaster was ‘sloppy work’ from their team colleagues that needed re-doing.

Consequently, more than a third (37 per cent) of employees preferred to work on their own – suggesting that many business cultures did not encourage employees to communicate ideas, share responsibility and trust fellow team members, said Cedar.

“A lack of adequate training and support for effective team working has a potentially damaging knock-on effect on business productivity,” explained Penny de Valk, chief executive of Cedar.

“Team leaders play a vital role in delivering organisational performance, while their style and effectiveness has an impact on their team’s ability to deliver successfully,” she continued.

“This requires a savvy, influential leadership style to get all members of the team focused on team goals, as well as awareness of their position as a role model. Regular meetings to discuss team performance, alongside opportunities to socialise as a team, create the right atmosphere for team productivity.”

Source: http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2013/01/staff-performance-hit-as-leaders-fail-to-develop-team-working.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=pmdaily&utm_content=310113_news_1