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Inattention to Results

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About this lesson

Inattention to Results is one of the five team dysfunctions. In this case, team members are focused on personal goals or achieving personal status through team membership than in working to achieve team results.  

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Inattention to Results.docx
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Inattention to Results - Solution.docx
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Quick reference

Inattention to Results

Inattention to Results is one of the five team dysfunctions.  In this case, team members are focused on personal goals or achieving personal status through team membership than in working to achieve team results.  

When to use

When team performance and cohesion is lacking, analyse the team for the five dysfunctions.  If there is inattention to results, apply the corrective actions to restore trust.

Instructions

To address the team dysfunction of Inattention to Results, you must be able to recognize this condition.  The table below contrast the teams focused on results with those that are not.

Results Focus

Tools for Overcoming Inattention to Results

The following tools are commonly used by teams to overcome inattention to results.

  • Public Reporting of Results: Making guarantees about upcoming team performance.
  • Results Based Rewards: Team and personal recognition and personal compensation are tied to team performance.
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  • 00:03 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:05 Let's look at the last of the five team dysfunctions, inattention to results.
  • 00:10 So let's start by discussing what it means for a team to be results-focused.
  • 00:15 Of course the team has goals.
  • 00:18 We've talked in an earlier session about setting goals.
  • 00:20 A results-focused team puts those team goals
  • 00:23 ahead of each member's personal goals.
  • 00:26 And we're not talking about squishy, feel good goals, we mean solid,
  • 00:29 measurable performance goals.
  • 00:31 The team results will then normally be a combination of several elements of
  • 00:35 business impact for which the team is responsible.
  • 00:39 It might be financial goals tied to sales and revenue or profit, rates of return.
  • 00:43 It might be customer-focused goals such as market share, customer satisfaction,
  • 00:47 or project deliverables.
  • 00:49 it could be tied to team efficiency measures, such as cost, cycle time, or
  • 00:53 quality aspects like scrap or returns.
  • 00:55 And it could be organizational impact, such as hiring and firing to achieve
  • 00:59 the desired headcount or ensuring that everyone is trained and certified.
  • 01:03 Whatever the goals, the point is that there is a measurable metric and
  • 01:07 all team members are working together to achieve that target.
  • 01:10 It's important to understand that this dysfunction is one of degrees.
  • 01:15 Everyone on the team will tell you, that they want it to succeed.
  • 01:18 But the key here is that the team members are willing to set aside their
  • 01:22 personal goals and objectives to ensure that the team is successful.
  • 01:26 Some team members seek out team membership because it affords them status.
  • 01:31 Others seek it out in order to enhance a resume or
  • 01:34 achieve some other personal goals.
  • 01:36 This dysfunction occurs when those reasons are more important to an individual than
  • 01:40 team success.
  • 01:42 What this is really getting down to is whether the person is willing to sacrifice
  • 01:45 something for the team.
  • 01:47 Once again, to bring this dysfunction of inattention to results into sharper
  • 01:51 clarity, let me contrast the teams that focus on results with those that do not,
  • 01:56 at least in terms of team characteristics.
  • 01:59 When focus is on results, the teams will attract and
  • 02:02 retain team members who want to be part of a team that achieves big things.
  • 02:07 The team members are truly team players who work with each other
  • 02:10 to make the team stronger.
  • 02:12 The team members generally enjoy it when the team is succeeding and
  • 02:15 they genuinely are pained when the team is not succeeding.
  • 02:19 Another thing about these team members is that they're willing to sacrifice some
  • 02:23 personal goals or pleasure for the good of the team.
  • 02:26 Also, they maintain their focus on the goals despite distractions.
  • 02:31 There are always potential distractions for a team.
  • 02:34 But those who keep their attention on results know the team's goals and
  • 02:37 stay focused on those.
  • 02:40 Now let's contrast that list with a list associated with teams where there is not
  • 02:44 a focus on team results.
  • 02:46 In this case,
  • 02:47 achievement oriented individuals will soon vote with their feet.
  • 02:50 They will leave the team to go to find one where they are doing big things.
  • 02:55 In part, that's because this team is not winning.
  • 02:58 If it is a business team, the competition is outperforming them.
  • 03:01 If it is a project team, they're missing milestones and deliverables.
  • 03:05 Rarely do these teams ever achieve anything significant.
  • 03:08 That's because no one on the team really cares.
  • 03:11 The team is just a holding spot, it's where you can rest or, even worse,
  • 03:15 stagnate.
  • 03:16 Because of this,
  • 03:17 the team members soon turn inside and look to see what is in it for them.
  • 03:21 Their personal goals and objectives become paramount and determine what they do and
  • 03:26 how they do it.
  • 03:27 Also, since there is no focus on achieving team goals and results, the team can be
  • 03:31 easily distracted by whatever new fad or interesting phenomena is occurring.
  • 03:36 Well, obviously the picture I painted about the inattention to results is
  • 03:40 not good.
  • 03:40 So what can be done to overcome this problem?
  • 03:44 Several things are obvious.
  • 03:45 One of them is there needs to be clear, measurable goals.
  • 03:49 Results imply a goal.
  • 03:50 Without a goal, the concept of results is meaningless.
  • 03:55 Another key is that any reward or recognition needs to be team-based.
  • 03:59 Individual rewards will lead to individually focused behavior.
  • 04:03 Team rewards are needed to maintain focus on team results.
  • 04:07 We've mentioned this one before.
  • 04:09 There are also a few tools to help to overcome this dysfunction.
  • 04:12 One is to publicly guarantee team performance against a target goal.
  • 04:16 With that public declaration, now all the team members will be evaluated against it.
  • 04:21 By publicly predicting future performance, the expected results are clear.
  • 04:27 Sports teams will sometimes do this to motivate their teams.
  • 04:31 Another technique is to ensure all rewards for
  • 04:34 team performance are team rewards that are tied directly to the team results.
  • 04:39 If this reward and recognition system is understood by the team,
  • 04:43 it both maintains focus and motivation for the team members.
  • 04:47 Teams that are characterized by inattention to results are never able
  • 04:52 to reach sustained high performance.
  • 04:54 Fortunately, there are several tools to encourage focus on team results.
  • 05:00 When this is your team's dysfunction, start using some of those tools.

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Avoidance of Accountability
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