Team

1. Lack of alignment with company vision and mission.

Leadership must understand that if employees do not understand how they

personally fit into the vision, this statement is not worth the paper on which it was

printed.

2. Team charter is unclear.

A charter is a document prepared by leadership that answers:

* What is the reason this team exists?

* What are the steps to be followed by this team?

* What quantitative results are expected for this team to be successful?

* Who are the team members, team leaders and team liaison?

* Who will support the team if needed?

* How much time should be spent in meetings and outside of meetings?

* What authority does the team have? What things cannot be changed?

* What items are outside the scope of the team?

* What budget does the team have?

* What are the outputs from the team? When are they expected to be

complete? To whom should they be given?

3. A cookbook approach was used instead of a custom-tailored approach.

Although my company has advocated a specific process in implementing teams,

the simple truth is that the process has never been followed. The process is an

excellent baseline, but each organization has a unique culture; a unique history;

a unique group of leaders, managers and people and a unique team-based

background that must be taken into consideration when designing and refining a

specific organization's team-based process.

4. Middle management/supervisors' roles are not changed.

Middle managers and supervisors typically have all the responsibility for