Foot dragging and boredom. When part of the team’s task becomes mundane, repetitive, or unclear, motivation drops off. Look for a lack of effort by team members, such as lateness to meetings, less discussion during meetings, and a less dynamic approach to problems.

Duplicate skill sets. When too many members have the same competencies and expertise, those skills may be overemphasized and the direction of the team will shift. Look for a lack of creative problem solving or the reliance on the same solutions for every challenge.

Convoluted tactics. Complicated, confusing, disjointed ways of getting things done are often a sign that the team is unclear about its purpose. Look for tactics that don’t align with the task or that don’t suggest a greater strategic purpose.

Low trust levels. When the team’s agenda is not crystal clear, members may perceive each other as having hidden, personal agendas. People struggling to make their work purposeful may not trust others to help them in that struggle.

Help the team set challenging goals for itself that are clearly tied to its purpose, and that will require ingenuity and renewed effort to achieve. Setting a stretch goal is an excellent way to sharpen a team’s focus because it forces members to move beyond where they are comfortable and leave behind familiar thought processes and methods. They have to use everything they know, and seek new knowledge, insights, and experience to reach the goal. They have to depend on their own abilities and strengths, and also on the skills and expertise of the others on the team. Challenging goals keep the team’s purpose vivid and compelling.

Frustration about roles. Undefined, missing, and duplicate roles are all sources of team frustration and flagging effort.

“Can’t do” attitude. The lack of a key skill and the inability to acquire that competency – through training or by adding a member with that skill – can cause your team to stumble or even fail.

Rigid structure or lack of structure. Teams need a certain amount of definition and form to function well. They can be hampered by having too many tactics or having problems solved for them, which can stifle energy and initiative. Teams can also suffer from too little structure, which may leave people floundering, not knowing how to proceed.

Roles, responsibilities, norms, and procedures (as well as other components of your team’s structure) are likely to change or may need to change as the team adapts to shifting demands. Often in the midst of these changes tensions arise between members because they don’t have a shared understanding of what is expected of one another – they’re not on the same page. By occasionally setting aside time at team meetings to discuss roles and responsibilities, you can help members maintain a common understanding of what they can expect from each other. The team can use this time to periodically review and update procedures and norms.

Counterproductive reward systems. If you’re rewarding individual effort instead of team effort, you’ll find that people won’t give their best to the team task.

Roundabout tactics. If the team’s tactics are designed to get around the organization’s policies, systems, and cultural expectations, that indicates that the norms of the organization are an obstacle to team success. It might also indicate that members don’t know how to operate effectively in the organization.

Ill-designed information systems. Without clear channels and processes, information flow can get stalled. That’s even more important when a team is separated by time and distance, as many global teams are. Lack of communication can put a damper on team success because it becomes difficult for members to share what they know and what they have learned.

Out-of-kilter control systems. Unclear or overbearing control systems (inventory, human resources, finances, and regulations) get in the way of team effectiveness.

The awareness or suspicion that team performance doesn’t count in the eyes of the organization may emerge well after the team has been launched. That’s why it’s so important to monitor team performance on a regular basis. A suitable reward system can underscore the organization’s support. If team rewards weren’t built in at the beginning, for example, they can be instituted when the need appears. Rewards don’t always have to be financial. Highly visible recognition, celebrations of milestones, and even educational opportunities for members can serve as team-oriented rewards.

Favoritism. When some members are perceived as having a closer relationship with the team leader than others, it’s likely that the team isn’t enjoying full cooperation among all its members.

Safe tactics. Tactics that just barely satisfy team objectives may be a sign of poor or weak relationships among members. In the absence of robust relationships, teams may value harmony above finding the optimal ways to do things. The tactics they adopt may be designed primarily to minimize conflict and strife.

Turnover. When individuals consistently find reasons why they can no longer serve on the team, it’s often a sign of disagreeable, stressful relationships among members.

Even when there is a clear purpose, appropriate knowledge, an empowering team structure, and good organizational support, personality conflicts and unproductive relationships may hinder the team’s work. A good intervention at this point might be an activity or series of activities, such as an offsite meeting or a celebration of a milestone, that can build camaraderie and reinforce team identity and pride. A deliberate developmental experience may be especially effective in stemming disintegrating relationships, and will also help individual members prepare for future team assignments.

Assessments can also be a useful intervention because they can give your team a clearer view of strengths and complementary working styles of its members. Exercises and courses can underscore that the member who is always pushing for closure and the member who is always wanting to keep options open both have worthwhile and useful points of view. Team relationships can also be improved with short courses in decision making, communication, and conflict resolution (teams sometimes ask for such training). There’s no better time for addressing these issues than when the problems are current and create immediate obstacles to getting the work done. As you monitor the emotional climate of your team, be ready for opportunities to help individuals learn better interpersonal techniques and avoid joining in the blame game.

Playing politics. Take a close look at how the team relates to stakeholders in the company, and see if undue weight is being given to organizational politics. For example, has the team left some part of the organization out of the loop because it doesn’t want to deal with an anticipated turf battle?

Angry suppliers. If vendors are complaining, it often indicates that the team doesn’t understand their operations and constraints.

Alienated customers or clients. The purpose of a team frequently relates directly to serving and satisfying the organization’s clients. Unhappy customers may be a sign that the team has lost sight of its purpose.

If your team isn’t effectively using its external relationships, one simple intervention is to have someone who represents one of those relationships (a vendor, for example) come to speak to the team. Your team may need a tour of facilities and processes to gain a real understanding of a client’s needs, for example. Training or coaching can help members understand stakeholder perspectives, and look beyond attitudes and complaints. If your team is working from old maps about the competitive landscape or the regulatory climate, for example, you can make a course correction by establishing systems for constantly scanning the external environment and staying on top of changes.

Missed market changes. When news from the outside world isn’t incorporated into the team’s continuing work, it’s a sign that information-gathering systems need to be revamped.

Erroneous conclusions. Too many wrong answers and unwise decisions may indicate that the team isn’t receiving and considering enough information to make solid decisions.

Missed opportunities. If the window of opportunity keeps closing on your team, it may indicate that the team is not getting and disseminating information in a timely manner.

Information flows into a team from different sources. It can come from outside the organization, from inside the organization, and originate and circulate in the team itself. To handle the flow of information so that it bolsters effectiveness, consider which communication channel best helps the team overcome a performance weakness. When team effort is low, for example, less reliance on e-mail and more attention on face-to-face meetings can help renew member efforts by underscoring their cooperative relationships. If considerable confusion, absence of information, or even misinformation runs through your team, try holding an offsite meeting with a facilitator to talk things through and get everybody back on the same page. If waiting for a written report is holding up the works, opt for quick and informal communications – by phone or memo – to keep the work on track.