This wasn't just any collapse, this was a whirling vortex, downward spiral, free-fall-at-a-thousand-miles-an-hour kind of collapse; the kind that makes the record books--the ones you never want to open if you're a Boston Red Sox fan.
Yes, baseball is only a game and the Red Sox are just an overpaid, underperforming group of players who ceaselessly inflict pain on New England sports fans year after year (2004 and 2007 notwithstanding). After this rollercoaster season, we deserved a much better outcome than witnessing their unceremonious demise in the final inning of their last game.
Notice, please, that I did not refer to the 2011 Red Sox as a team. They were a collection of individuals who each seemed to speak a different language, play by his own set of rules and work toward his own goals. There was no apparent chemistry, cohesion or collaboration that are the hallmarks of truly great teams.
In trying to salvage something positive about my home team's shocking demise, I wanted to get a better grip on how and why a talented, skilled team can suddenly stumble into oblivion. Here's a checklist of contributing factors, drawn from my client experiences as well a little web searching.
For those of you who lead geographically dispersed teams, the underlying reasons for underperformance may be much harder to ferret out, and the interventions more tricky to apply. The key is to act as soon as the first red flag goes up, rather than hoping the problems will just go away on their own.
Creating a team culture. When new players join the team, they need help becoming immersed in the "local culture." For example, each team has its own principles and norms about socializing, practicing, public behavior, surfacing issues, and resolving conflicts. Team leaders need to make sure that new players become assimilated as quickly as possible into the prevailing team culture, which might mean assigning a "buddy" or two to shepherd them along in the early days. "Ultimately, you don't need a team that wants to go out to dinner together, but you need to have a team that wants to protect each other on the field and be fiercely loyal to each other," said now-former Sox manager Terry Francona. "That's what ultimately is really important."
Seeking superficial harmony instead of facing conflict head-on. Some managers try to bolster spirits in the clubhouse by giving players positive strokes. Confronting underlying issues directly and encouraging players to speak plainly about their own performance as well as the team's, allows players to hash out their differences and shift destructive behaviors. While avoiding conflict and tip-toeing around tough issues may feel like the "safe" thing to do, it's actually one of the surest ways to accelerate a team's demise, once it's started going in that direction.
People are not operating from their real strengths. Like a sports team where some excel at defense or offense or speed vs. strength, each team member brings certain gifts, experience, talents and expertise. Add to that, some players devote more time to honing their skills than others. Leaders need to provide an environment where people can move out of their comfort zones, stretch themselves and excel in brand new areas, rather than performing merely competently by executing the same level of performance as they have done for years. Even if you have a team member who is capable of greatness, if that person does not exploit their potential, their contributions will be no greater, and perhaps even less than, some of your inexperienced staffers.
Avoiding accountability. When team members aren't accountable for their own actions, they hurt their own performance. But when they duck responsibility for calling out other team members for their behavior, the performance of the whole team suffers. For example, if a right fielder knocks over the center fielder when both try to catch a fly ball, they both need to quickly agree on a ground rule to prevent catastrophe the next time. Similarly, if you have a team norm that says people who don't do prework must get caught up on their own time, everyone needs to call out the transgression when someone interrupts to ask a question that was covered in the prework. A close-knit team knows how to hold each other accountable without rancor.
Egos getting in the way. We may cheer when our team outbids a competitor for a sought-after superstar. But when the celebration's over, we know that stardom often brings with it big egos -- the kind that can divide a team and breed resentment. When a team has multiple stars, whether it's the deified athlete, a social marketing whiz kid, or the fair-haired child of the CEO, big egos can lead to problems that can escalate quickly. Regardless of the quality and depth of stardom a team may possess, leaders need to be scrupulous about requiring that everyone be treated fairly, playing by the same rules and working toward the same goals, regardless of stature or salary. Otherwise, power struggles can quickly deplete energy and derail a team.
You've got the wrong players. Half the team might have exceptional skills in certain areas, while other talents are notably lacking. Some players may have been inherited, some were invited to join based on past successes, and others may have been picked up because no one else claimed them. In addition to the skills each brings to bear, consider the extent to which some people like to collaborate and others want only to pursue individual goals. If you can't find a way to coax and cultivate your team's talent to make the best use of what they have, and to make up for what they don't, you'll have to decide who stays and who goes. The longer you put off the decision, the harder it will be to pull together as a team.
Magical thinking. We all fall prey to irrational optimism, especially when we have run out of ideas about how to turn things around. ("If only we can get through this series, we're sure to go the rest of the way." Or, "We can overcome our project delays if everyone works hard and does their best.") Really? You think so? This kind of unrealistic hopefulness, while it might act as a salve in the moment, can actually disable us from taking any real action to get the team back on course. It's true that hope can act as a powerful motivator. But hope without an accompanying plan for change can keep a team mired in the muck, unless of course you happen to have benefit of a magic wand.
Negative thinking. It's one thing to be aware of your limitations and have a plan to work around them, but it's another to become hobbled by self-doubt. Anyone who watched the Sox play the last games of the season saw a group of men who went through the motions, spirits lagging, while the opposing teams exploited their weaknesses, which had far less to do with physical problems than collective despair. Remind team members of the brilliance they're capable of and explore ways they can regain their lost luster. Well-placed honest feedback can do wonders to turn a team around, but constant haranguing will lead to a pervasive negativity that can't easily be overcome.
It's just no fun anymore. When people dread going to work, they simply won't be operating at peak performance. No one expected the 2004 Red Sox to win their first world championship in 86 years. Throughout the playoffs, they stayed loose, joking and laughing both on and off the field. As outfielder Johnny Damon said, "We are just a bunch of idiots, having a great time." It's no coincidence that they became the only team in baseball history to come from three games behind to win a seven-game playoff series. When people have fun and like their work, unhampered by pressure, they aspire to perform their best. Find ways to make work fun, especially when the pressure is on.
Even the mightiest team can fall apart without apparent warning. Leaders need to be vigilant about looking for those small telltale cracks before they become irrevocable fissures that can tear a team apart.
As Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said after his team's epic collapse: "When you go through what we just went through, you can't look past anything. You have to take a hard look at every aspect of the organization, one's self included, and ask, 'Is this exactly the way we want it to be? If everything is going right...if we're exactly who we want to be, is this element of the organization functioning the way we want it to?'" If the answer's no, then we have to go out and fix it. And that's going to be a very difficult, very painful, painstaking, thorough process. But the bottom line is we failed."
For virtual leaders the signs of disaffection and dysfunction can be harder to detect. But at the first sign of discord, whether it's a sarcastic tone, an angry word, or a passive-aggressive response, it's time to act quickly and decisively. Worst case, you may be overreacting to a momentary lapse.
Best case, you may have helped the team avoid an irretrievable meltdown with just a few thoughtful interventions.
Founded in 1994 by Nancy Settle-Murphy, Guided Insights (formerly Chrysalis International) is a facilitation, training and strategic communications consulting firm based in Boxborough, MA – just 35 minutes from Boston, MA and 20 minutes of Worcester, MA.
The company's virtual team of seasoned facilitators, organizational development professionals, trainers and strategists is committed to helping teams achieve desired results more quickly by collaborating more successfully. A special area of focus for the firm is helping virtual teams who work across various cultures, functions and time zones.
www.guidedinsights.com 
