30 Ways to Refocus a Team

It’s not uncommon or unheard of for a team to lose its focus. In fact at times the leader may find it difficult to get the team to refocus on the project or goal to be accomplished. At times there are unruly elements within the team and their dissent with relation to other team members or the project goals can disrupt the working of the team. The team may stop functioning as a cohesive unit and that would scatter the efforts of the team. It is during such times that the leadership and strategy management team needs to take charge and bring the team back together. Following are ways in which a leader can get the team to work as a single unit again:

1.    Observation: The leader must observe all team members and their activities to discern where the problem is arising.

2.    Ask the team: If the team is faltering, the leader may ask the team members if they need help. He could also ask the team of any particular problems they may be facing.

3.    Retrace: Let the team go through all the steps it has taken as of yet to discover what and where the dysfunctioning occurred.

4.    Reverse: Let the team return to the last step at which the dysfunction occurred and list out all the steps.

5.    Listen up: Does the team have internal differences among themselves? Is anyone hurt?

6.    Timeline: Create a timeline of events on a white board either through colored sketches or sticky notes.

7.    Visualize: Draw or use other visual means to keep track of the path to your goal.

8.    Build: Use lego’s or other block games to create a great team. Once created, ask your team to find a missing link in it, if any.

9.    Care: Do your team members care about the project? Do they want to refocus?

10.    Realization: Does the team realize that there is a problem they are facing?

11.    Help: Can you get third party help? Others who could act as mediators to solve the problem?

12.    Mediate: Can you yourself use mediation techniques and help your team? Can the team help each other?

13.    Listen up: Listening skills are important for everyone in the team. Practice these regularly.

14.    Replace: It’s better to remove the non-working elements. Is it possible to find a replacement?

15.    Mix: Is it possible to mix or shuffle the team? To change some responsibilities or to create greater understanding among them through some socializing activities?

16.    Replan: Is the problem with your project plan? Perhaps. Maybe you need to re-do the project plan.

17.    Build: Start again. Build a new team if needed.

18.    Search and Research: Find out the strengths of each team member thoroughly. And assign tasks accordingly.

19.    Face-up: Each team member must be able to face up to their fears as well as the behaviors that contain them or the team.

20.    Document: Document the progress. Keep track of what the team has accomplished.

21.    Set smaller goals: To reach the final goal, set smaller intermediate goals as checkposts for the team to know exactly how much they have achieved and how far they have to go still.

22.    Record: Keep a record of what each team member agrees to do. Keep that as a contract document so that no confusion occurs at any later stage.

23.    Look ahead: If you have been able to overcome the problem, don’t look back, just look ahead. Focus on the future steps.

24.    Communicate: If there are any changes in the plan at any time or any updates, please keep the team in the loop. Being left out of the loop may demoralize and hinder the performance of the team member.

25.    Goals: Are the team goals set? If not, finalize them.

26.    Rulebook: There has to be a guideline or a rulebook for all the team members to stick to. All the work must follow a certain pattern to avoid team members from going astray.

27.    Limit email: Incessant or continuous emailing can disrupt the flow of the work and may also cause unnecessary confusions. It’s good to curtail or even get rid of emails and conduct personal meetings if possible. 

28.    Avoid meetings: No, this is not contrary to the point above. If there is no need of a meeting, avoid it. Keep meetings to a minimum to allow for more time for productive work. 

29.    Mentor: If the team members need mentoring, be available. Some of the team members might be greenhorns in need of valuable mentoring, help them. 

30.    Model: Create  a positive work environment for the team. Harness the power of human support and get team members to be supportive of each other.

The above steps will help you get your team back on track and focussed on the task at hand.