Not Really Part of the Team: I

Some people are on the team, but aren't really part of it. They seem to hang back. They do their jobs, but there's no sparkle and little pride. Their social connections are limited to a few people, if any. Most interactions are directly related to their responsibilities. They show little initiative, even though they're capable of more than they're actually doing.

Because this pattern can keep the team from reaching its potential, it pays to ask, "What's going on?"

To solve puzzles like this, many look only (or almost only) at the person who's hanging back. And in some cases, the explanation does lie there, within. But in my experience, that's rarely the full story. It might not be even a small part of the story. More often, hanging back results from the dynamics of the team, in which the person who's hanging back might play only a small role. And some of the contributing causes might even lie outside the team.

Here's Part I of a short catalog of factors that can cause some people to hang back.

Virtual isolation

When some members of virtual teams are geographically isolated from all other members, they can find it difficult to form relationships with people they've never met, or never will meet. If they believe that they'll have little interaction with teammates in the future, they might invest little in building relationships now, especially if they've encountered even slight difficulties in past attempts. They just do their jobs and prepare to move on. Thus arises one of the hidden costs of virtual teams: depressed initiative for isolated team members.

Pariah roles

Some roles When some members of virtual teams
are geographically isolated from all
other members, they can find it
difficult to form relationships
with people they've never metare considered "less than." These people are on the team, but their opinions aren't valued. They do a particular piece of work, and that's all they are expected or permitted to contribute. Not only are their opinions and observations undervalued, they aren't even sought. Their unsolicited contributions often land with a "plop," and are promptly ignored, until, in some cases, those same contributions are offered by someone less of a pariah.

Drive-by team members

These people are assigned to the team part-time and temporarily, along with several other assignments that they have in parallel. Their expertise is rare within the organization, and the team regards itself as lucky to have a slice of the drive-by team member's time, on any conditions. They schedule team meetings at the convenience of their drive-bys, and they permit the drive-bys to attend just part of the meeting. When the drive-by shows up for a meeting, the team immediately drops what they're doing to address the drive-by's agenda item. Drive-bys regard the team as inferior, and themselves as superior. They offer little to the team beyond the rare expertise that the team needs so desperately.

We'll expand this catalog next time, examining causes with a bit more emotional juice.   Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Workplace Politics:

Currying Favor

The behavior of the office kiss-up drives many people bats. It's more than annoying, though — it does real harm to the organization. What is the behavior?

When You Think Your Boss Is Incompetent

After the boss commits even a few enormous blunders, some of us conclude that he or she is just incompetent. We begin to worry whether our careers are safe, whether the company is safe, or whether to start looking for another job. Beyond worrying, what else can we do?

Breaking the Rules

Many outstanding advances are due to those who broke rules to get things done. And some of those who break rules get fired or disciplined. When is rule breaking a useful tactic?

What Insubordinate Nonsubordinates Want: I

When you're responsible for an organizational function, and someone not reporting to you won't recognize your authority, or doesn't comply with policies you rightfully established, you have a hard time carrying out your responsibilities. Why does this happen?

Power, Authority, and Influence: A Systems View

Power, Authority, and Influence are often understood as personal attributes. To fully grasp how they function in organizations, we must adopt a systems view.

See also Workplace Politics and Workplace Politics for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming December 11: White Water Rafting as a Metaphor for Group Development

Tuckman's model of small group development, best known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing," applies better to development of some groups than to others. We can use a metaphor to explore how the model applies to Storming in task-oriented work groups. Available here and by RSS on December 11.

And on December 18: Subgrouping and Conway's Law

When task-oriented work groups address complex tasks, they might form subgroups to address subtasks. The structure of the subgroups and the order in which they form depend on the structure of the group's task and the sequencing of the subtasks. Available here and by RSS on December 18.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info