Team Performance Analysis: Barriers, Strategies, and Solutions

This report analyzes team performance, based on a self-directed team assessment, revealing that the team is performing below its desired level. The analysis identifies key barriers such as poor planning, ineffective leadership, and personality clashes among team members. The report emphasizes the lack of well-defined goals, poor delegation of responsibilities, and conflicts resulting from personal agendas and lack of respect. To overcome these challenges, the report suggests strategies including improved information sharing by the team leader, balanced guidance, and a focus on trust and collaboration. The report also highlights the importance of members assisting each other and upholding trust as a key principle for achieving team goals, referencing relevant literature on team dynamics and performance.

Running Head: TEAM PERFOMANCE 1
Team performance
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Team performance
After conducting the self-directed team assessment, the total average set now
amounted to 15 while the overall average variance was approximately 6.5. The results
indicate that the work team is performing below its desired performance level. This means
that various performance barriers are affecting the work team to the extent that the team is
performing below its expected level.
From the results obtained after conducting the self-directed assessment and through
an in-depth analysis of the team behaviours used as parameters to the assessment, one can
outline poor planning as one of the barriers affecting the work team performance. Most of the
team members are there as an edict from the tutor. Most of the members didn’t take their time
to plan on what they want to do in the team and how they will do it. Therefore, the member’s
contribution to the work team goals and objectives are minimal. Due to poor goal planning,
the work team lacks well-defined goals to which the team is geared to achieve (White,
Eklund, McNeal, Hochhalter & Arroliga, 2018). This barricades the utilization of each
member’s talents since there is no way to pool those talents to achieve the team results.
Another barrier that inhibits the work team performance is poor leadership. When a
work team lacks an effective leader who would establish the governing policies geared
towards achieving its calls, then it ends up being unproductive. In the spirit of collective
responsibility, an effective team leader would delegate the roles of leading and facilitating the
work team tasks and assignments (Johnson, 2015). A team leader is responsible for
motivating and instilling confidence to the team members to enhance cohesiveness. Only a
visionary leader with effective managerial skills can be in a position to do that.
Every person is endowed with their specific personality. When the personality of
different team members clashes, the work team will perform dismally. Some members who

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have a personal agenda cannot compromise for the work team to benefit. Lack of respect
among team members results in conflicts and people with personal issues disrupts the work
team constructiveness (White, Eklund, McNeal, Hochhalter & Arroliga, 2018). Some
members may look upon their personality as being limited to the personalities of other
members of the team.
Other barriers include poor rapport among members, poor communications, lack of
trust among team members together with poor recognition and rewards programs. To
overcome these barriers, various strategies need to be operationalized. The team leader
should share as much information as they can to the work team members. Since the work
team is comprised of members with diverse abilities and talents, the members should provide
the right amount of guidance with the team leader moderating the same (Johnson, 2015). The
leader should balance between freedom and guidance. Members should be ready and willing
to do whatever is supposed to be done to accomplish the assignment including those work
which they don’t enjoy. Additionally, team members should assist the slower members in
catching up with other members to ensure that the team is sailing together on the same ship.
The work team should uphold trust as the team’s key principle towards achieving the
established goals.

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References
Johnson, L. K., (2015). “Overcoming barriers that destroy teams.” Harvard management
update, Vol 10 (9): 6-21
White, B., Eklund, A., McNeal, T., Hochhalter, A., & Arroliga, A. C. (2018). Facilitators and
barriers to ad hoc team performance. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical
Center), 31(3), 380–384. doi:10.1080/08998280.2018.1457879