The president of the company created a multi-disciplinary task force to research what would be required of leaders in the company to be successful in the next decade. We were all pleased to be selected to be on the team. We thought it was a worthwhile project, liked and respected each other, and looked forward to the opportunity to work together.
We completed our charge within a few months, producing a comprehensive analysis that was distributed throughout the company and widely acclaimed.
One of our recommendations was to create an instrument to measure these qualities in our current leaders and for use as a benchmark for future development. Our team decided to stay together for this additional piece of work as we were invested in the project and wanted to keep working together. We added a couple of resources with the needed expertise and enthusiastically began working on the instrument.
A year later, we were still in development. Our initial research had forced us to modify our model, the development process was more extensive than we had anticipated, and we had to make cuts due to budgetary constraints.
As a team, we still liked each other, but it wasn’t as much fun working on the project anymore. Personally, I was losing interest, sensing this project was not an organizational priority. And when additional work was required, no one quickly volunteered the way we used to do. We kept plodding along, but progress was painfully slow.
We eventually did complete the instrument. It was used for a while, but never widely adopted. And today, most people in the company are not aware of it.
What was the turning point? When did our exciting project begin to fail? Could we have anticipated and prevented the slow demise of our high performing team?
Answer: There was no turning point. We had succumbed to Team Drift.
Teams quickly realize they’re off course when something big occurs, like when a new manager is assigned to the team or when a key team member leaves.
But Team Drift is different. Team Drift occurs as a result of a series of small things, each one not significant but the total of which have a cumulative impact.
Team Drift is the slow erosion over time where a once high performing team loses its focus and capabilities without team members recognizing what is happening.
Five Considerations That Could Have Prevented Team Drift
- Organizational Support: The team was setup by the president. We didn’t test whether others in the organization supported it.
- Organizational Need: Although the model had been widely acclaimed, we didn’t do a needs-analysis to determine there was a perceived need for a tool to measure it.
- Vision: We didn’t formally revisit our vision or where we were in relation to it.
- Scope Shift: As budgetary issues became more and more of a constraint, we continually shaved away at the scope of the project without considering whether what we were creating was aligned with our vision.
- Momentum: When we started losing interest and stopped having fun, none of us raised the question of whether the project still made sense.
Were we guilty of continuing our team because we just didn’t want to end it?
Another great post, Jesse! By turning the ‘Six Considerations’ into questions (e.g. Do we have a clear vision that is supported by the entire team?), they could just as easily be applied to building a high performing team as repairing one that has gone adrift.
For those teams that have gone adrift (or never really got off the ground in the first place), how do you get back on track? How do you re-engage those who have drifted away and become disengaged? How do you build organization support when the leader failed to test the waters and in doing so, lost trust and credibility with team members? I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Sharon
Hi Sharon, I think you’re right – these do make good questions to help build a team. We actually did create a Team Charter, and we did become a high performing team. I think things fell apart so slowly that we didn’t realize it was happening. In retrospect, I think if we had had regular “team checkups” – like going to the doctor for a regular physical even though you’re feeling fine – we would have noticed earlier we were off track. As for how to get back on track, I think the first thing we should have done was take a serious look at our vision for the project (were we as a team all on the same page?) and then tested whether the president and others in the organization shared the same vision. The best way to do that would have been to ask the president to set up a meeting that included several key representatives of the company – where everyone could share their thoughts and hear each others opinions at the same time. My Harvard Business Review post Diagnose and Cure Team Drift has more thoughts on this subject. Thanks so much for stopping by, Sharon. Your thought-provoking questions and fresh perspective always add value!
Great points to watch for Jesse. I guess you know you are in trouble when you are “plodding along” as opposed to energised and running with a clear purpose! That is why it is important, particularly on large initiatives that take time to implement to check whether the vision is still valid.
I agree, Thabo. I think sometimes the law of inertia keeps teams in motion when it would be better to put honorable closure on them. Regular checks on the vision would have made a big difference.
Great post Jesse! Having worked on organizational change initiatives for long, I have seen many teams die a slow death and drift apart.
Teams also drift because of lack of velocity – positive movement in the right direction. A reasonable sense of urgency, commitment from the top leadership and constant communication on vision and purpose generally help team stay on track.
I also think that leadership plays a huge role in ensuring that vision is clear and teams are engaged to the purpose.
Well said, Tanmay! In retrospect, I can now see how our team was cut adrift from the organization and didn’t realize it because of a lack of communication with key stakeholders outside our team and a disconnect with our original sponsor. Thanks so much, Tanmay, for sharing your knowledge and further illuminating these key issues.
Thanks again Jesse.
Our company holds a meeting every 2 weeks on a Friday morning to reflect on the operational status of the current project(s) with the related project team members. The meeting is limited to 1 hour with breakfast wich makes it comfortable and contributory in style. Our executives meet every alternating 2 weeks with a mentor to anticipate and discuss strategy in the context of the client(s) and the relating project statuses. The same meeting conditions apply. Using this methodology has allowed us to anticipate, plan for and make necessary adjustments to our strategy which has prevented this team drift and has saved us multiple times in the past 3 years. Great article and I hope our strategy will help others avoid the drift.
Best regards,
Christo
Hi Christo, Thanks for sharing this excellent example of how senior management can prevent team drift. (My only caveat is to make sure team dynamics support people speaking openly and freely without fear of repercussion). Ultimately the demise of our team was a failure of the president as it was his responsibility to ensure the team he sponsored had the support and direction it needed to be successful instead of letting it fall off his radar. Unfortunately this is the case far too often. However, team members are not entirely helpless. Hopefully my post offers those in this kind of situation some perspective. And I appreciate your pointing out what senior management can do to prevent these kinds of situations.
We often talk about the danger of drift in our team. With this in mind we have developed a value and practice of forcing ourselves out of our comfort zones and creating change even when change is not being forced upon us. Thank you very much for your post and for the important reminders. I will share with my team.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Scott.
Outstanding! My thanks to whoever I was following on Twitter that posted this link! You have a very enthusiastic new fan!
Thank you, Sondra!
One very key point here Jesse is the needs analysis. I have found that this process, although superficially appears like an ‘assessment’ of what is required, can with a bit of strategy be far deeper than that. It can be an opportunity for engaging the employees and organization as a whole and creating buzz and possible buy-in. If this is done with much thought, interaction and engagement, then the expectations, the excitement and the accountability that ensues can help to keep the team focused and committed. Employee surveys are opportunities for idea sharing, creativity and solution-finding. Making them a 2-way process along with focus groups and interviews can make a dramatic difference in the way a project is received, appreciated and sustained. Thanks, I love your posts…so insightful and great depth and meaning.
Helen, I’m so glad you brought up these points. I can’t agree with you more! Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom here.
Great point. This applies to organizations too! Pretty much everything degrades over time so monitoring the sustainable value of a team has to be a conscious effort. I think it begins at the outset with clear definitions of the vision / goals, team competence and role (within delivering larger organizational goals). Plus, contingency plans for change and an exit strategy. Every significant team meeting should start with a review of progress on the above. Validation of purposefulness helps decisiveness about sustainable value.
Hi Alan, I love your suggestion of setting up contingency plans and exit strategy at the outset. When we charter teams, we clarify goals, communication, decision making, resources, etc, but then the work begins and unless a structure is in place to revisit the vision and test it against the current situation, things can shift so slowly we don’t notice it’s happened.
It took strength in your team to turn things around when at that point there was no, or little, support from senior executives. Were you able to engage them as well? If so what did you do?
Great story (case) and thank you for the distinction: “Team Drift”. Being it a “slow erosion over time”, I argue that a sudden change would probably generate a reaction by the team or at least by some of its members.
In my point of view, before embracing the good considerations you offer to prevent such a team phenomenon, the challenge is to recognize it much sooner.
My suggestion is that in starting such a team, everyone will get a “Watch for the Team Drift!” sign – so that each member knows ahead of such a possibility and be alert to it.
Thinking how to keep “Team Vitality” and even raise its level, can be another option.
That would better work for me as a team consultant, since Team Drift might drain my energy.
A propos energy –
Someone said that yawning – like the sound in your smartphone – is a human cue for leeting you know that you’ve got 20% battery/energy left.
Clever suggestions, Yoram. I like the idea of focusing on prevention of Team Drift. Another way to prevent Team Drift is to be sure everyone is clear and committed to the same vision in the first place and then to revisit it regularly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!