Are your team members grumbling about too many virtual meetings, or complaining of ‘Zoomout’? Based on the conversations I’m having with some of my clients, you’re not alone. And I think it could boil down to a disconnect between management and employees in our understanding and expectations of team interdependence.
Consider this: if your team has transitioned to remote work and management (and/or leadership) believes that more interdependence and management is required, but team members believe otherwise, tension will be common. This shows up in the form of complaints from employees: they push back when asked to attend meetings, participate in decision making, and do work. They often complain of micro-management.
Conversely, if your team members believe they need to be more interdependent, and management or other team members do not, complaints of lack of support and help will be common. Either way, better management is required.
Planning and Communication for Optimal Team Interdependence
Prior to execution, the two most important factors for successful team interdependence are planning and communication. When all parties understand and agree to what, where, when, how, who, and why, less communication (and meetings) is needed.
When a team does not have proper planning and communication, team members have difficulty getting information from each other, completing tasks, and making decisions. They spend unnecessary time and effort on tasks, which slows production.
How much planning and communication is enough? This depends on the type of interdependence. Sociologist and organizational theorist James D. Thompson identified three types many teams use today: pooled, sequential, and reciprocal. Because team members may be operating from different (and or limited) experiences with each type of interdependence, their expectations may vary.
I’ll dive in to this in my next post. In the meantime, what do you think? What is your understanding and expectations of team interdependence? I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached here, on LinkedIn, or give me a call: 561-582-6060.
