Handling the Blame-Game in Teams - Essay Example

The paper "Handling the Blame-Game in Teams" is a marvelous example of a management essay. It is often said that the strength of a team over an individual lies in its diversity; in ideas, resources and knowledge. However, the same diversity is a potential source of conflict as members tend to blame one another for problems arising within the team, most often missed targets and poor performance of the team as a whole. This blame game if allowed to go on leads to inefficiency of the team. It is the responsibility of the team leader to ensure that the blame game does not hinder the completion of the assigned task.

However, just because team members are discouraged from blaming each other for problems arising within a team does not imply that members should cease responsibility for their actions. The team leader is therefore served with the role of ensuring that members take responsibility for their actions and at the same time ensure avert destructive behavior of blaming one another form occurring. To do this, a team leader has to create a problem identification methodology, review work rules and guidelines, facilitate fluent communication and assessing existing authority.

A team leader should assist the team in formulating a problem identification mechanism to detect a problem and potential sources in of problems in the work procedures and completion of the task. Blaming each other occurs when there are problems and it is by avoiding the occurrence of problems that the team will remain steadfast and save time to perform the task rather than spend time-solving problems that could have been avoided where members blame one or two members for the problem. With a mechanism in place, it will be easier to appreciate a problem exists.

Such mechanisms are useful in raising red flags that call for urgent attention to a certain issue. Some teams live in denial assuming there are no problems or false optimism believing that things will work themselves out (NBRI 2010). One common source of the problem is that team members always point to top-level management whenever a problem occurs. Therefore the blame game in a team is a matter of authority. In most cases, teams operate under the authority of top management where their activities have to be approved at all times.

This lack of independence implies that team members do not have enough authority to carry on with their work. The team leader should make it a prerogative to seek relevant authority to make certain decisions as a team. This way whenever a problem arises as identified in the earlier step, team members are well-positioned and have the authority to address it without seeking approval. Adair (2007) says that in such scenarios of inadequate authority, blaming one another may move beyond the team to the higher authority.

Unfortunately, this is likely to happen after the actual failure of the team to accomplish a given task. Therefore the relationship between the team and the top management, especially on issues of work rules and guidelines, should be reviewed in order to allow team members to operate on a fair level. Adair (2007) says that in organizations where senior employees are protected by red tape implies that they do not blend well with lower-level employees when working in the same team. It is important that some rules and the normal flow of authority in an organization between individual employees be abandoned for the sake of a team.

When such hierarchical powers are brought in to a team, higher-level employees tend to look down on lower-level employees and blame them for any problems arising. It, therefore, the work of a team leader to foster a different relationship among all team members somehow different from the common one in the organizational chart but create a different temporary one for the team. Such a situation is most common in vertically organized organizations where the flow of communication is filtered and controlled.

Communication is most cases is from down. When such a framework of communication is brought in a team, it cannot function properly. The team leader should, therefore, a new platform of communication for the sake of the team. When information flows freely within a team, problems are easily avoided and problem-solving is easier (Beebe & Masterson 2009). The team leader should be viewed as the bonding force within a team. He should thus be neutral in cases of apportioning blame among members and adopt the discussed ways in avoiding cases of team members blaming one another for arising problems.