在帕特里克•兰西奥尼（Patrick Lencioni）的知名管理类书籍《团队发展的五大障碍》（The Five Dysfunctions of a Team）一书中，他这样说道：“如果你能够让团队所有人心往一处想、力往一处使，你就具备了在任何行业、任何市场、任何竞争及任何时间，都做到游刃有余、驰骋战场的能力。”
最近，我所接触了一个团队，不仅仅队伍中成员心各不一，甚至他们都处在方向不同的三艘船上。然而，当船行驶越来越近、几近相碰的时候，成员们竟怀抱船桨互相殴打。这个时候，我说，这个团队重病了。
非常不幸的是，现实生活中这样的团队实在太多，特别是在经济不景气的非常时期。
研究表明，团队内部的任何不团结因素均会招致严重后果，代价非常高昂。团队成员之间的不和谐，对个人的不良影响，包括压力、工作满意度低、生产力低下、愤怒、绝望、甚至身体上的疾病，比如失眠。对团队的危害则是，削弱生产力、学习、协作，甚至整个团队的生死存亡。当企业需要投资指导、绩效管理、解决冲突及调解的时候，团队不和谐会直接增加组织成本。最后，团队患病还会影响大大小小的其他方面，比如消费者。
如何带领一支病中队伍走向康复？
1、作为领导，必须开启关键性谈话。研究证实，对于解决团队冲突，领导的能力至关重要。理想情况下，问题团队内部领导会自动解决问题，但如果该领导也是问题产生的一部分原因，那么团队其他成员或外部团队成员必须启动对话。一支团队的真正品质所在，是如何处理内部陋习甚至解决纰漏，解决问题的成功完全在于领导的作用。如果领导因为担心损害各方关系而避重就轻，不重视开启关键性谈话，则会最终导致整个团队的士气严重受挫。
2、重视责任感，严防互相攻击。一旦领导开起了关键性谈话，相关犯错人员（导致团队患病的人员）必定加入其中。这个时候，责备他人远比检视自己来得容易。有时候，员工之间很容易出现人身攻击，比如肆意散布谣言、毫无根据的指控、大呼小叫、吹胡子瞪眼、别人谈话时插嘴、羞辱他人、甚至破坏团结等等。这些行为会直接导致恶劣的工作环境。事实上，大家应该着眼于增加建设团队成果的行为，提高责任感、互帮互助、推动前进。此外，如果领导不在场的时候，大家更应该提高士气，重视团队合作。即使没有领导在，大家也绝不应该互相攻击。
3、提高交流、解决冲突及问题的技巧。就像个人需要良好的人际关系帮助自身发展一样，团队也需要有益的帮助发展积极的成员关系。极端时刻，人们往往容易对他人产生偏激的评价，甚至责备。而专业化的、良性的矛盾处理技巧则更有助于队伍建设，帮助成员共同进步。
4、领导与员工拥有共同的愿景及目标。除了明确的目标，还有一个个小目标背后隐藏的共同愿景及路线方针。涉及到团队目标的设定，需要将所有成员的定位及走向都计划好。在团队患病的情况下，每个人都需要有所超越。引用一句传说中加州大学洛杉矶分校（UCLA）篮球教练约翰•伍登（John Wooden）说过的话“忘掉过去的失误，奔向更好的明天。”
5、在团队建立“社会契约”，规范成员行为。为团队内部所有成员订立需要遵守的行为规则，包括处事行为、制作决定、共享信息，以及相互支持。主要为成员之间互动提供行为规范。它们可以包括提倡积极的行为（例如，诚实、坦率、诚信），取缔消极的行为。
6、时刻铭记，意见不一致会破坏团队凝聚力。建设性的争论、冲突和差异可以促进团队的健康向上。重大问题的争吵和辩论，有时候甚至可能产生更好的团队决策。但是，如果是因为个人，也可能是破坏性的。团队成员必须知道什么时候战争熄火，还必须保持开放的新观念，敢于接受他人意见，探讨各种方案，为了实现双赢的解决方案而努力。所以，团队每个成员都必须承认的事实就是，任何个体的想法都不可能总是最佳的解决方案，所以必须接受选择的结果，而不是对有分歧意见的成员心怀芥蒂。
团队患病导致企业破坏。所有的团队内部成员都必须承认这个事实，从而避免任何一支优秀队伍丧失可能实现伟大突破的机会。正如马尔科姆•格拉德维尔（Malcolm Gladwell）在他的书中所强调的那样，“任何人——即使你是摇滚巨星、专业运动员、科技富豪，甚至天才，都不可能孤军奋战、独自创造卓越。”
In his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni compares high performing teams to expert oarsmen: “If you could get all the people in the organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”
I recently observed a team that not only had members rowing in different directions, but they were in three different boats. When the boats got close to one another, the members beat one another with paddles. That team was toxic.
Unfortunately, scores of teams are like that, particularly in stressful economic times.
Research shows that serious strife within teams takes a high toll. Among individuals, team discord leads to stress, low job satisfaction, poor productivity, anger, despair, and physical ailments such as insomnia. For teams, it can impair productivity, learning, collaboration, and even survival. Discord increases organizational costs when firms have to invest in coaching, performance management, conflict resolution, and mediation. Finally, team toxicity affects others in an organization and consumers.
How do you get a toxic team past its dysfunctional behavior?
1. Leaders must initiate crucial conversations. Research has confirmed that a leader’s ability to address team conflict is crucial to successfully resolving toxicity. Ideally, the team’s own leader will address the issue, but if the leader is part of the problem, another team member or someone from outside must initiate the conversation. The true mettle of a team is tested by how it deals with bad behaviors and violated expectations, and its success may hinge on how its leader handles them. Leaders who avoid crucial conversations, fearful of damaging relationships, ultimately pay a price in damaged team morale.
2. Focus on accountability and stopping bullying. Once a leader initiates the crucial conversations, team members must join in and take responsibility for their roles in causing team toxicity. It is far easier to blame and judge others than to look at one’s own offenses. Sometimes members bully one another to get their way. This can take the form of spreading rumors, making unfounded accusations, yelling, glaring, interrupting, undercutting, undervaluing, humiliating, or sabotaging other members of the team. Such actions create a miserable work environment. Members should focus on achieving team results and engaging in behaviors that help the team move forward. Sports teams often call players-only meetings to turn around losing situations, raise morale, and rebuild teamwork—without the coach making them.
3. Work on communication, conflict, and problem-solving skills. Just as individuals can need help with personal relationships, teams can need help developing positive relations. In tense situations, people often make rash judgments and assign blame. Professionally facilitated sessions can help air basic issues and help make people better team members.
4. Create a shared vision and shared goals. Along with clear goals, a shared vision of the larger purpose behind those goals provides structure and direction and a context within which members can make decisions. Involve the team in goal setting to increase each member’s buy-in and commitment, and plan well. In toxic situations, everyone needs to move beyond the past. To use the words of John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, team members need to “promise to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future.”
5. Develop a social contract for team behavior. Set ground rules for how members of the team will behave, make decisions, share information, and support one another. Social contracts set the norms for team interaction. They may both prescribe positive behaviors (e.g., be honest, transparent, candid, and trustworthy) and proscribe negative ones (e.g., no negative e-mail blasts to team members).
6. Recognize that disagreements should not ravage a team. Differences of opinion, respectful debate, and constructive conflict can make for a healthy team. Discussions and debates about serious issues can result in better team decisions. But if they get personal, they can be destructive. Team members must know when to stop fighting or complaining and when to start listening or gathering more evidence. They must remain open to new ideas, accept input from others, explore options, and work toward win-win solutions. Each member must recognize that his or her idea may not always offer the best solution, and must accept the chosen outcome instead of harboring grudges against other members.
Dysfunction leads to devastation. Team members must recognize this fact to avoid missing opportunities for the great achievements that only a team can accomplish. As Malcolm Gladwell notes in his book Outliers, “No one—not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses—ever makes it alone.”
