I’m project managing a real estate academy for a premium client. As part of the curriculum, the graduate interns were split into groups for a property valuation task, which had a deadline. One group missed the deadline because their team mate did not submit. They had done the task, their team lead was to collate and submit…but that didn’t happen. While I empathize, this outcome has implications for the entire team. Someone dropped the ball, and the whole team will take the hit.
When a #teammate drops the ball or fails to deliver on their responsibilities, it can be frustrating and impact the overall progress of the team. Here are some steps you can take to address the situation:
1. Assess the impact: Determine the severity of the situation and its impact on the team’s goals and objectives. Consider whether it’s a minor issue that can be easily resolved or if it requires immediate attention.
2. #Communicate openly: Approach your team member in a calm and respectful manner to discuss the situation. Share your observations and concerns, focusing on the impact of their actions on the team’s progress. Use “I” statements to express your feelings and avoid blaming or attacking them.
3. Seek understanding: Give your teammate an opportunity to explain their perspective on what happened. There might be underlying reasons or challenges that you are unaware of. Listen actively and try to understand their point of view without judgment.
4. Offer support and solutions: Instead of dwelling on the mistake, focus on finding solutions. Ask your teammate if they need any support or assistance to rectify the situation. Brainstorm together to develop a plan to address the issue and get back on track.
5. Hold them accountable: While it’s important to offer support, it’s also essential to hold your teammate accountable for their actions. Clearly communicate the expectations moving forward and the consequences of not meeting them. Encourage them to take ownership of their mistake and work towards resolving it.
6. Evaluate and learn: After the immediate issue has been resolved, take time as a team to evaluate what happened and identify any lessons that can be learned from the experience. Use it as an opportunity for growth and improvement, both individually and collectively.
7. Foster a culture of learning: Encourage a culture of open communication, continuous improvement, and learning from mistakes within your team. By creating an environment where team members feel safe to admit their mistakes, ask for help, and learn from each other, you can minimize the chances of similar issues occurring in the future.
Remember that everyone makes mistakes, and it’s important to approach the situation with empathy and a focus on finding solutions rather than assigning blame. If you are the erring teammate , communicate quickly, minimize excuses, apologize profusely but more importantly find a way to resolve the problem. Results are rewarded, efforts are merely acknowledged.
What are your best points above and why?
BERYL CONSULTS 
One of the reasons why being the team lead is burdensome for me is that in most cases, I’ll end up doing the most work. I remember during my undergraduate studies when I was the team lead for a class presentation which summed up our continuous assessment. Other group members left the work for me and contributed little. On the day of the presentation, I adlibbed most parts because the paper wasn’t complete. Just used my charisma to cover up. Recently, I was the team lead for a project, and others left the work for me to figure it out again. I have become accustomed to this, so I usually prepare the whole work in case others don’t turn in their contributions…🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️
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It’s a pity you’ve had to experience being in bad teams. I’d like to say here that your team experience can change if you change tactics. We need to do a step by step assessment of how you constitute, communicate and coordinate the team. Is it possible that your communication and leadership style led to the outcomes you encountered? Were there other factors like process of delegation, tasks distribution, motivation etc? These are aspects to be reviewed. Ultimately, you should not be accustomed to doing all the work in a team. There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM. Perhaps I’ll do a post soon on TEAM FORMING and NORMING . Until then, you can read my other articles on team work
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True though. I get the follow up part. But it’s not easy, especially when you’re jostling with deadlines and merged with passive folks. You just have to keep pushing and motivating. In the recent project I talked about, I motivated them by creating a WhatsApp group and always sending reminder messages. That was why a few serious ones sent in their contributions before the deadline.
I’m hoping to know better ways to do it because I know I’ll keep leading teams for a long time…
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Great piece of writing. I can’t wait for more
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Thanks Moyo. Feel free to read other posts in my blog . Cheers 🥂
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My best point is to offer support and solution. Instead of totally depending on my teammates, I could as well carry out an independent research and act as a backup plan in other to mitigate the negative impact it can have on the team.
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A plan B is always a good idea . Making alternate plans also means you’re taking ownership👍 However the team should be carried along even in that Plan B. When the team wins, bribery wins.
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This is lovely. You are such a Gem 💎
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Thanks Daniel. There’s a seed of greatness in you too
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