279. The Six Symptoms Of An Unproductive Team
Not all leaders recognize when they have an unproductive team. As it turns out there is a proven solution to catapult growth: implement the 4 Secrets of Accountability
As an executive coach and leadership off-site facilitator, I see a lot of unproductive teams. In fact, a reason leaders hire me is to help realign and reignite their unproductive teams.
Here's the problem:
Not all leaders recognize why their team is unproductive.
To understand what I mean, you first have to understand what an unproductive team looks like. That leads to the Six Symptoms of an Unproductive Team:
Lack of pride in one’s work
Stagnant growth
Low morale
Little innovation
Degrading culture
Lack of respect for leadership
Do you experience any of these at your company?
If you are experiencing even just 1 of those Six Symptoms, you need to keep reading.
Because there is a catch.
The Primary Problem of Unproductive Teams
Imagine you are making guacamole. While you're trying to get that darn pit out of the avocado, the knife slips through the skin and goes right into your hand.
[Editor's Note: Seriously bro?! I told you not to tell anybody!]
Naturally, you wrap your hand in a towel to stop the bleeding and you go to the hospital. When the doctor sees you, he asks how bad the pain is. You tell him you're in a lot of pain.
Now imagine the doctor just gives you some Advil, and sends you back home.
He's completely ignoring the problem, right?
Sure, Advil may address the pain. But pain is just the symptom. Your hand is still bleeding like an angry geyser.
Now that we have that image of spouting blood in your mind, let me take this back to the catch about leaders and unproductive teams.
When I ask leaders what they think their biggest problems are, they usually just rattle off a few of the Six Symptoms of Unproductive Teams that I mentioned above. They’ll say things like:
"We're not growing like we used to."
Or, "My team can't get anything done without my help."
Or, my personal fave, "People don't listen to what I tell them to do. They just do whatever they want."
Here’s the catch: The reason leaders have a tough time fixing their unproductive teams is because, like the doctor, they are focused on solving the symptoms and not the blood-gushing problem.
Let me be crystal clear on this one:
The primary problem with unproductive teams is a lack of accountability.
Why Lack Of Accountability Is The Primary Problem With Unproductive Teams
You may think that your team's lack of accountability isn’t the problem. You may think that the slowdown in company growth is a completely different issue.
Welp, my friend, you're wrong.
Lack of accountability is what leads to the Six Symptoms.
The Six Symptoms are the sign of an unproductive team.
Don’t just take it from me. Heck, there are lots of companies - entrepreneurial to Fortune 500s - that were experiencing Six Symptom issues and hired me to help them overcome their challenges.
I came in, taught the leaders how to master team accountability and - boom! - things dramatically turned around.
How do you master team accountability?
I'm glad you asked.
We'll get there in a second.
The Misconception About Accountability
Many people cringe when they hear the word "accountability".
If you cringe at the idea of accountability, you're doing it all wrong.
People believe that accountability includes things like:
Scolding
Yelling
Forcing people to do things they don't want to do
Light to moderate torture
What I'm telling you is that if your accountability process includes any of those things, you're doing it all wrong, and potentially could be jailed.
Plus, you're clearly not following the four elements outlined in Mastering Team Accountability.
Employees Want To Be Held Accountable
Your team members want to be held accountable.
In fact, according to workforce specialist, Anne Loehr, 85% of employees say they want to be held more accountable.
But here’s the problem:
85% of leaders are bad at accountability.
Eight-five percent!!!
Gadzooks!
Lack of team accountability is the single most prominent issue in leadership development.
There are few things more important for leaders than learning how to maintain accountability with their team.
Learning how to effectively maintain team accountability is critical for the success of your business, your employees and, yes, even your career.
The 4 Big Benefits of Accountability For Unproductive Teams
There are 4 Big Benefits of holding your team accountable. They are:
Accelerated growth
More effective problem-solving (aka more innovation)
Increased loyalty
Improved communication
But let's not stop there, because that's not everything. There are 4 Big Benefits to you, personally, when you hold others accountable. They are:
Increased confidence (aka less self-doubt and less Imposter Syndrome)
Improved productivity
Greater respect from colleagues
More recognition from others (aka you'll get promoted)
All great stuff, right?
Let me tell you how you can learn it.
How Accountability Will Transform Your Career (And Your Unproductive Team)
Are you ready to transform your team into a more inspired, more accountable unit?
Are you ready to catapult your career trajectory?
You've got 2 choices:
You can either hire me for thousands of dollars to guide you and your team through the 4 Secrets of Accountability or…
You can join my class on Mastering Team Accountability In < 1 Hour
Sure, I love the money that companies pay me to teach them the same steps to mastering team accountability. But what's more important is you and your career.
That's why I'm offering the entire course on Mastering Team Accountability In Less Than 1 Hour to everyone. For a limited time, it’s only $97.
Yup, $97.
(Click here to check it out.)
I purposely put it at a price point that every leader can afford.
[Note: If you can't afford it, let me know. I gotchoo.]
The course on Mastering Team Accountability will transform your career. Period.
Sign up for the next class now before it sells out (the last 3 sold out!!)
Don't just take my word for it though, check out the feedback from others who have already gone through the course.
OK, you got to the end. Which means you care about this. And that’s why I put way down here, at the bottom, a 50% discount for the next course. Cause it’s only for people like you. Shhhh.
Click here to sign up for the 50% discount.
Let’s keep it our little secret, shall we?
For more leadership insights, subscribe to The Best Leadership Podcast Ever on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player.
Leading Starts With Following
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube
⏰ Follow me on TikTok
📖 Follow me on Facebook
⛓️ Follow me on LinkedIn
📷 Follow me on Instagram
🅧 Follow me on X (Twitter)