A group of high-energy and motivated people are vital ingredients to creating a strong sense of team spirit. When unleashed and aligned to a specific task or mission, the results can be unbelievable.
However, all too often you will experience team saboteurs. These individuals have an extremely negative influence on other members, as their personal intentions and aspirations do not necessarily connect with that of the team. They exhibit disruptive to bring down the morale of the team and create problems that don’t actually exist. They must be confronted as their method of operation can be extremely debilitating to the rest of the group.
Such individuals operate like a virus. They can infect the mindsets of others and undermine the positive values of the team. Whenever these individuals present themselves, their motives must be clearly understood and their actions questioned. Team viruses must be held to account and their activities stemmed as soon as possible. Allowing them too much oxygen can prove highly divisive and can have a serious negative impact on your mission to realise your vision.
It’s important to handle this process with care in an open and honest fashion, as the people concerned may have friends within the team and you should avoid the risk of alienating these individuals. You need to understand what the problems are and why negativity is emerging from the team. Such negativity could impact on all concerned so issues need to be resolved quickly and effectively. Conflict must be avoided to ensure morale is positive. Dealt with in the right way the experience can actually bring the team closer!