Unhealthy Norms: When bullying and disparagement are tolerated, they are also sanctioned.
Misaligned Vision: While there may be many paths to the same destination, everyone must agree on the endgame.
Unresolved Conflict: The stress of disagreement makes it difficult to maintain professionalism. Conflicts rarely resolve themselves. Instead, they get stockpiled only to be reignited later.
Lack of Connection: Work and life are not balances on a ledger. They are both environments that fuel human connection and the foundation of teamwork.
Failure to be Accountable: Every chance to follow through with a commitment is a maker or breaker of trust.
Disrespect: If teammates are allowed to hurt each other, the workplace never becomes safe for true collaboration.
Fear of Taking Smart Risks: Growth requires stretching and discomfort. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Inability to Leverage Differences: Optimally, the number of perspectives acknowledged at the table should equal the number people sitting at the table.
Resistance to Mourning: While unpleasant, sadness and depletion are functionally necessary components of managing change following a loss. Skimming over the significance of the impact will only subtract from the effort to reorganize.
Breakdown of Efforts to Refocus: Because change is constant, embracing new circumstances is the fuel for resilience. The energy needed to cope arises from this reinvestment.
All teams confront these barriers at one time or another. They are outgrowths of human interaction. The challenge is to remain attentive to which obstacle is getting you stuck and making it difficult to move forward in a healthy way. Once you’ve identified your team’s landmine, collaborate on a plan to disable it rather than letting it disable you.
