Why Isn’t Every Organization Working on Team Development?
Many organizations are enjoying the benefits of improved employee engagement, better employee satisfaction and increased employee retention as a result of work they have done in establishing a culture of collaborative teamwork. Their investment in team development is paying them back many times over in improved productivity and a more collegial work environment.
Why, then, are there still a large number of organizational leaders who are holding on to their “top down” management style rather than embracing the collaborative team culture model?
Here are some possibilities that come to mind:
They are not familiar with collaborative teamwork
If an organizational leader is so busy with the day to day running of his or her organization, he or she may not be aware of the benefits of ditching the “top down” style to replace it with a more effective model.
They are not sure collaborative teamwork will work for them
Perhaps they are happy with the way things are going in their organizations and can’t imagine that things could be even better by adapting a new management model.
They don’t believe it is in their best interest to give employees a greater say in how things are run
Some managers feel that their organization is best run with an “I say — you do” style. Their gut tells them that more collaboration can only lead to more disorganization which translates into less productivity.
They are afraid to try something new
It is human nature to want to stay with what you know rather than take a risk on something new. This “instinct” is more prevalent in some than in others but a leader who has a strong feeling about maintaining the status quo will be very hesitant to try something new-even with all the evidence that it works well.
Their ego is too big
Some leaders’ egos may be so big that their philosophy is “I’m the boss so what I say, goes. End of story.”
They don’t trust their employees to empower them to share in decision making
This one is self- explanatory.
These are the possible reasons I can suggest as to why some organizations are resisting the trend toward more collaborative work teams.
I’d like to hear your thoughts.
