There is respect bestowed on people by virtue of the position they occupy. Some people struggle to give respect in instances where they are on the ‘same level’ with. Nothing cripples teams like teammates undermining each other. When people in a team undermine each other the whole team fails.
Undermining those you are with on your team is evidence that you have made your ego more important than the team and its purposes. The team also fails those that lead it when the teammates undermine each other. So, how exactly are you undermining your teammates?\
Here are 4 ways you undermine and fail your teammates:
undermining your team is like scoring an own goal; self defeating
Roles
Every team member has strengths unique to them. Wise leaders assign tasks or roles to team members based on their strengths. You undermine your teammates when you see your role more important to the team than others’.
Other instances where people see their assignments more important than others’ that they call for help at the (complete) expense of others’ assignments. In organizations you see people insisting that their departments or divisions are to be treated more respect than any other. The truth is it all takes a team to do the work.
A jigsaw puzzle piece is not more important than the puzzle but the puzzle is incomplete without it
Failure
Failure by a part of your enterprise will most likely be felt by other parts of it, if not by all. Failure in one area is failure for all, as it affects everyone. Individuals and or teams in an enterprise must own up to their contribution to failure.
However, you fail your teammates when all you do is beat them up after a failure. When teams in your enterprise fail it is your responsibility as a team player to find means to remedy that and empower your teammates for future success.
Teamwork is about enabling success of an enterprise.
Squabble
You fail your team when you allow conflict to grow. Some conflict can easily be short-lived when team members are aware of conflict between other team members and they create a space for it to be resolved.
Sadly, some team members pick sides instead of the picking the team and its vision. Team members must learn to focus on the health of the team and not allegiance to others, especially when they are wrong at the expense of what should be collective focus.
Resolve conflict in a team is more than just bringing reconciliation between two parties in conflict; it is about the well-being of the enterprise and its vision
You fail your team when you do not help resolve conflict but enable it.
‘Word’
It is easy to see everything that is going wrong. Often at the expense of what is going right. Excellence is important. Despite this fact, not everything deserves fuel. Sometimes the best thing to do for your teammates is a word of encouragement not battering.
Always highlighting what your team keeps getting wrong may make your team focus more on the negatives. You undermine your team when you never or rarely highlight what they are getting right.
Affirmation gives confidence to act, while continually keeping failures before your team will incubate discouragement and grow failure further.
Leader, when communicate areas of failure to your team find a way to encouragement for positive outcomes.
How have you felt undermined or failed by you teammates?