Never ask Darla, “How are you doing?” She will take your “off the cuff” remark as an invitation to vent her emotions and satisfy your curious interest with dramatic details that may suck you into her foaming rapids of DRAMA! She is never short on tragedy and is always looking for a listening ear. Darla can derail a team meeting and redirect its productive energies around her swirling calamities. Don’t open that Pandora’s box!

Where is Martha? We have this meeting every third Monday and she is never here! What is up with her? Martha decided to do a site visit today… because she hasn’t done her homework for this committee! Yep… the dog ate her homework so Martha is absent!

What is the deal with Martha? Why is she so unreliable on attendance? She has been with us for nearly 20 years and has become infected with entitlement. She is on salary and doesn’t have to put in 40 hours; “Seriously, who does that anymore?” Attending her committee meetings or participating in her team roles is at the bottom of her list. Martha doesn’t have buy-in to her team and their projects. Why is she here? Because she was transferred over from another department having the same issues with keeping her engaged. HR is on to her now. Two more infractions and she will be escorted from the building.

This guy is a winner! Tom is top salesman quarter after quarter. He can close deals and make sales. There is no telling how much revenue he has created for the company. But he knows it! While his team cannot deny his track record, neither can they deny his arrogance and rude behavior in the group!

NOBODY wants to work with Tom! He sees everything as a personal challenge. If he sniffs out any competition in a team meeting, he goes into “topping your story” mode. His insecurities are clear to everyone but him and his over compensation just makes the team roll their eyes. People get tired of patting him on the shoulder and stoking his ego.

Henrietta is all about the past. She cannot get her eyes off her rear-view mirror. It looks good back there. And as time goes by, the past looks better and better. Actually the facts from the past get a little distorted in her advantage too. Henrietta looks better and better in her version of those successes. “Five years ago at my old company, we snapped this thing together under budget and ahead of schedule!”

Could somebody please bring Henrietta into the present! Vernacular has changed. Technology has significantly advanced. Most of the software programs you are referring to are no longer supported. Storage in now on the Cloud; you will be given an access code.

Darla, Dan, Sam, Martha, Tom, Henrietta and all the other team members are sabotaging their Trust Credit Score with the team. And that score is hurting the confidence the rest of the team needs to be productive and successful.

These characters help us understand the main Fractures of Teamwork. When teamwork is fractured and trust is broken, the flow of productivity crumbles, the atmosphere is tense and the return is marginal. Teams shut down. They quit performing. Members lose heart while others outright revolt.

But when trust is remarkable, the flow of productivity is quick, the atmosphere is vivacious and the return is extraordinary. Trust in individual member’s intentions, integrity, skills and getting the job done either fractures or encourages remarkable teamwork.

There is a path back to Remarkable Teamwork! And it’s worth effort! Teams that learn how to repair their broken trust are five times more effective and know how to navigate difficult situations! Let’s get that journey started!