Poor Leadership Practice

I was recently made aware of a practice in corporate America and elsewhere that essentially destroys confidence in the leadership structure. The practice is telling people that they work on a team, that teamwork is what makes the company grow, and that team players help the team succeed.

The offending lie comes when it's time for your annual appraisal....you get an individual rating. Suddenly the team mantra is gone, cheerleading is done, and the team is set aside in favor of singling you out for a rating geared for only you.

The team concept is an admirable means of inspiring better performance, greater productivity, and a sense of spirit not found with individual members. If done the proper way, there is little an inspired team cannot accomplish. Individual effort is excellent, but is spread throughout the team, raising even mediocre performers to new heights.

When leaders choose to flaunt the lie in the face of the workers, it isn't long before team members realize that it's everyone for himself. Teamwork and team spirit gives way to grousing and complaining about who's doing what, for how long, and who has the hardest job. Left unattended the Team concept will live in name only, morale will decline, and the will to outshine other teams disintegrates. Workers feel betrayed after they've been told that teams make up the workforce and that teams make the company excel, only to discover that company leaders still want singular accountability.