Not Really Part of the Team: II

Withholding our energy, what we know, or even what we guess might be true, can hurt our teams when they face difficult situations. Unless team members feel safe enough to take reasonable risks, they limit their contributions to such an extent that team performance can suffer. Here's Part II of our little catalog of factors that can cause team members to hang back. Read Part I for more.

Bully targets

Some team members bully others, who then withdraw to find safety. They don't speak at meetings unless required to. They volunteer neither effort, nor opinion, nor information. They might be motivated, in part, by bitterness or anger, but the initial motivation is fear, which usually remains central. If bullying occurs in meetings, the team lead bears some responsibility, but if the bullying occurs elsewhere, the team might be unaware of it.

Indirect bully targets

Some people, aware of bullying by one or more team members, aren't targets themselves. Intimidated into near-silence, they seek safety by hanging back, depriving the team of their contributions. Their withholding seems mysterious, because there are no direct interactions that could explain it.

Clique excludees

Some teams harbor cliques whose relationships are much stronger than their relationships with other team members. Even when the clique intends no malice, others can feel excluded. Over time, perceived exclusionary incidents can cause excludees to "check out." They cease trying to gain acceptance, because previous efforts have produced such small returns. Clique members then might feel judged, and might begin to actively exclude the excludees. Enmity can develop from nothing.

Airdropped team leads

The airdropped team lead (ADTL) arrived when the previous team lead left unexpectedly. Unhappy about the assignment, the ADTL sometimes knows (or cares) little about the task or the team's status, which can prevent the ADTL from anticipating difficulties, or resolving existing difficulties. Viewing their assignments as dues to be paid, ADTLs accept them believing that "stepping up" will help their careers. ADTLs sometimes set unachievable goals for their teams, either out of repressed anger, out of ignorance, or to prove their own worth.

Replacements

Some team members Some team members bully
others, who then withdraw
to find safetyare replacements for those reassigned following a "staff raid" by another team. Replacements are sometimes less capable than the people they replace. When they and the rest of the team know or believe that, replacements can feel unwanted and "less than." Unless replacements feel respected, they can withdraw into themselves, thinking that by just doing their jobs they can get through this assignment and someday find one that comes with some respect.

With so many alternative explanations to consider, it's remarkable how often — and how quickly — people decide that the person who hangs back is the only one making the bad choice. First 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.

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:

When All Your Options Are Bad

When you have several options, and all seem politically risky, what can you do? Here are two guidelines to finding your way to a good outcome.

The Risky Role of Hands-On Project Manager

The hands-on project manager manages the project and performs some of the work, too. There are lots of excellent hands-on project managers, but the job is inherently risky, and it's loaded with potential conflicts of interest.

The Power of Situational Momentum

For many of us, the typical workday presents a series of opportunities to take action. We often approach these situations by choosing among the expected choices. But usually there are choices that exploit situational momentum, and they can be powerful choices indeed.

Group Problem-Solving Tangles

When teams solve problems together, discussions of proposed solutions usually focus on combinations of what the solution will do, how much it will cost, how long it will take, and much more. Disentangling these threads can make discussions much more effective.

Unanswerable Questions

Some questions are beyond our power to answer, but many of us try anyway. What are some of these unanswerable questions and how can we respond?

See also Workplace Politics and Emotions at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming September 25: Planning Disappointments

When we plan projects, we make estimates of total costs and expected delivery dates. Often these estimates are so wrong — in the wrong direction — that we might as well be planning disappointments. Why is this? Available here and by RSS on September 25.

And on October 2: Start Anywhere

Group problem-solving sessions sometimes focus on where to begin, even when what we know about the problem is insufficient for making such decisions. In some cases, preliminary exploration of almost any aspect of the problem can be more helpful than debating what to explore. Available here and by RSS on October 2.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenmhXARWRMUvVyOdHlner@ChacxgDmtwOKrxnripPCoCanyon.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 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Race to the South Pole: Lessons in Leadership

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. But to organizational leaders, business analysts, project sponsors, and project managers, the story is fascinating. We'll use the history of this event to explore lessons in leadership and its application to organizational efforts. A fascinating and refreshing look at leadership from the vantage point of history. Read more about this program.

Here's a date for this program:

• Baldwin-Wallace University, 275 Eastland Road, Berea, Ohio 44017: November 7, Kerzner Lecture Series/International Project Management Day, sponsored by Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.
   

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.