IT workers aren’t cogs in a machine

Are you part of a team that seems plodding, downtrodden or dejected? Do you manage a group prone to infighting among individuals or conflict between factions? Do you go to work every day filled with dread that you’ll be surrounded by people exuding negative emotions? If so, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, this describes far too many IT groups and project teams.

In my work helping both troubled and toxic teams, I’ve noticed that there are innumerable ways in which teams descend into dysfunction. It’s like the famous quote from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” In part, that’s why there are so many troubled teams: Because there are an endless number of ways to get there, it’s hard to spot warning signs before the dysfunction is entrenched.

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