GREAT Teams Can Still Fail

Drs. Lil and Ted Jedynak, business coaches with extensive experience, identify common reasons why even strong teams falter. 

They point to unclear expectations, lack of ownership, and leadership that assumes silence equates to satisfaction as critical pitfalls. 

The Jedynaks emphasise the importance of clear communication, shared accountability, and proactive check-ins to prevent these issues. 

Clinic owners, in particular, are urged to move away from generic solutions and toward customised strategies. Their material encourages leaders to foster environments where team members feel heard, valued, and responsible for collective success. 

Need to discuss your team's challenges? Book your FREE Coaching Call HERE 

Prefer to read the transcript? READ HERE:

Why Great Teams Can Still Fail

[00:00:00] Ever feel like you put together a team, like a real dream team, and then it's wait a minute, these folks, they're not playing the same song. Yeah, it's almost like you've got all the best ingredients, right? Like you're ready to cook up something incredible, but it just doesn't quite come together, that's exactly what we're diving into today. We're going deep with these business coaches, Dr. Lil and Ted Jedynak. They've really spent a lot of time figuring out this whole team thing, like what makes some teams just really click and others don't. And what's so interesting is they talk about these silent killers of teams.

Yeah, not the obvious stuff you'd think of. Like people not having the skills or personalities clashing. It's like more insidious, sneaky stuff. Okay, so let's get into these silent killers. First up. Unclear expectations. Come on, haven't we all been there? Like that project where someone just totally missed the mark on the instructions and it just blew up.

Oh, yeah. Like a bad game of telephone, right? Except instead of messing up a silly phrase, you're messing up a major project. And Dr. Lil and Ted, they don't [00:01:00] sugarcoat it. They say unclear expectations. That's how you get things half done. Done wrong, or just not done at all. It's like everyone's working from a different set of instructions and the whole thing just falls apart.

And it's not just about the work, it's also the team's morale. When you're constantly second guessing yourself, you're afraid to do anything, because you don't know what's expected, it just creates this whole vibe of hesitation. People just stop taking initiative. So it's not just the output, it's the whole team dynamic that gets messed up.

Exactly. But they don't just leave us with the problem, they give a solution. And it's so simple. But what does that mean, in the real world? How do you actually get everyone on the same page? It's got to be specific. Think about those project management tools where every task, every deadline is crystal clear for everyone to see.

It's not just, hey, I need this by Friday. It's okay, here's exactly what data you need. Who it's for and why we need it. So it's not just about the what, but also the why. Give people the context. Let them see how their piece [00:02:00] fits into the bigger picture. That's how you get people to really care.

All right, I'm getting this. Clear expectations, crystal clear communication, and the why behind the what. That's how we take down that first silent killer. But what about the next one? What's hiding behind door number two? This one's all about ownership. Or the lack of it. They call it no real ownership.

imagine a rowing team where everyone's rowing their hearts out, but in totally different directions. You're saying even if everyone's super talented, if they're not all rowing together, it's not gonna work. they might be getting things done, meeting deadlines, but there's no sense of ownership.

It's a bunch of individuals working side by side, Not a team. So what are the signs? How can people tell if this is happening on their team? One thing is what they call passive order taking. People are just waiting to be told what to do. They're just waiting for permission to think, to contribute, to really own their role.

That's gotta be tough. everything just slows down. Everyone might be busy, but it feels scattered. No one's on the same page. [00:03:00] And then when something goes wrong What happens then? The finger pointing starts. People are more worried about protecting themselves than solving the problem as a team.

Okay, listeners, I want you to think. Does your team really feel invested? Do they really care about the goal? Or are they just going through the motions? Are they just checking boxes? That's the big question, right? And to get people to really own their work, Dr. Lil and Ted, talk about this thing called the D A C I framework.

D A C I . Okay, you're going to have to break that down for me. What is that and how does it help teams actually take ownership? It stands for Driver, Approver, Contributor, and Informed. Basically, it's a way to make sure everyone knows their role in decision making. Who's leading the charge, who gives the final approval, who's giving input, And who just needs to be kept in the loop.

So it's like making sure everyone knows which lane they're in on the decision making highway. Exactly. With DeciEye, you're giving people the power to own their role. The driver, they're leading the way. The approver, they're the green light. [00:04:00] Contributors, they're offering their expertise. And the informed, they stay up to date without getting bogged down in every little thing.

This is making a lot of sense. But how do you actually use it, this D A C I thing? You don't want it to feel like just another rule, right? Because too much process, can really kill creativity and ownership, And that's where good leadership comes in. D A C I is a guide, not a set of rules carved in stone.

It's about having open conversations, healthy debate, making sure everyone feels comfortable speaking up, even if they're not the driver on something. it's about finding that balance, right? Structure, but also flexibility. Ready for silent killer number three. It's a sneaky one. This next one, leadership by assumption.

I have a feeling this is going to hit home for a lot of people out there. It's you think no news is good news and figure if the team's not saying anything, everything must be fine, but that can be a dangerous game. Totally. Like ignoring a little leak in the roof, And you think no big deal and then bam, you've got a flood.

[00:05:00] Exactly. And get this, Dr. Lil and Ted, they connect this whole leadership by assumption thing to. Psychological safety. It's all about creating an environment where people on your team, feel safe to speak up. Share their concerns, or even disagree with you, without worrying about getting in trouble.

So it's not just about being, nice to your team. It's about making sure they know they can be honest, admit when they mess up, ask for help. Yes. And when that's missing, that's psychological safety? You get people who are afraid to rock the boat. Even when they see it heading straight for disaster, problems fester, resentment builds, and then boom, something blows up.

It's like that story, the emperor's new clothes. Everyone sees the problem, but they're too afraid to say anything. Exactly. But Dr. Lill and Ted, they give us some help here. They talk about this technique called start stop continue. It's a way to do retrospectives. Start, stop, continue. I like the sound of that.

How does that work? It's really pretty simple, but super powerful. At the end of a project, the team, they get [00:06:00] together and ask themselves three questions. What should we start doing? What should we stop doing? And what should we keep doing? So it's a structured way to get honest feedback. Everyone gets to share what worked, what didn't, and what needs to change?

Yes. And it's not about blaming anyone. It's a team effort. Everyone's voice matters. It's almost like team therapy, But in a good way. The important thing is to create that space where people feel safe to be open without being judged. But it's not just about talking, right?

What happens after this start stop continue thing? How do you make sure the feedback actually leads to change? That's where the leader really has to step up. It's not enough to just hear the feedback. You have to do something about it. Actually make changes. Show the team you were listening. Actions speak louder than words.

Show them you're not just hearing them, you're actually using what they said to make things better. when people see that their input matters, it just makes them feel even safer to speak up next time. It's like a positive loop. I'm seeing a pattern here. These silent killers [00:07:00] and the solutions, they're all connected, right?

Clear expectations, ownership, psychological safety. They all go together to make a high performing team. That's a great observation. You're right, it's all connected. Dr. Lil and Ted even say these silent killers, they don't usually show up alone. It's like they feed off each other. So if you're seeing one of these silent killers, you're probably dealing with the others too.

That's why you can't just focus on one thing. You have to look at the big picture. The whole team culture. Okay, listeners, think about your own team. Do any of these sound familiar? Unclear expectations? People not really owning their work? Or maybe it's that feeling that people are holding back, not speaking their minds.

They're tough questions, yeah. But important ones if you really want your team to succeed. And remember, even if you see some of these silent killers on your team, it's not hopeless. Dr. Lil and Ted, they have practical ideas for turning things around. It's about shifting from just managing.

To actually leading from giving orders to empowering [00:08:00] people from assuming everything's fine to creating a culture where communication is open and everyone's always learning and improving. Okay, we've covered a lot with these first three silent killers. Now I'm curious to dig into what Dr. Lil and Ted have to say about solutions.

We've gotten a taste, but I'm ready for the main course. I'm with you. They have this really interesting concept. They call it proactive accountability, and that's what we'll get into next. Okay, so we've talked about these silent tillers, unclear expectations, no real ownership, and leading by assumption.

I'm ready to hear about how to fix all this. What do Dr. Lill and Ted say we should actually do? They have this idea, and it's all about proactive accountability. Proactive accountability. Okay, that sounds different from how we usually think about accountability, right?

Usually it's about blame, what went wrong, who messed up. Old school accountability, it's like looking in the rearview mirror, right? Yeah. But proactive accountability, it's about looking ahead. It's about creating a culture where everyone feels [00:09:00] responsible from the very beginning. So it's like setting everyone up for success instead of waiting for things to go wrong and then, you Playing the blame game.

Exactly. It's like instead of just putting out fires, you're fireproofing the whole building. Okay. But how do you actually do that? How do you create that kind of culture, that proactive accountability thing? One of the things they talk about is feed forward. It's like a different way to think about feedback feed forward.

Okay, I'm listening. What's that all about? It's about looking ahead, not behind. instead of focusing on what someone did wrong, you give them suggestions for what they could do better next time. it's about turning those mistakes into learning moments. I like that. But isn't there a risk that people won't be honest if you're always supposed to be positive?

That's a good point, but feed forward. It's not about sugarcoating things. It's about being honest, but in a way that helps people grow. So it's like being direct, but also helpful. Focusing on solutions, not problems. And it has to be a regular thing. Dr. Lil and Ted, say you gotta make feedforward part of how you work every [00:10:00] day.

So not just saving it up for the end of the project or, those yearly performance reviews. It's like giving and getting little bits of advice all the time. And it's a two way street. It's not just the leader giving feedback. Everyone should feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback, no matter what their role is.

So you're breaking down those walls, Creating a culture where everyone is learning and helping each other get better. Exactly. And that's really what proactive accountability is all about. It's about building a team where everyone feels like they can own their work, learn from their mistakes, and always try to do their best.

This has been a great deep dive. We've learned about those silent killers that can really mess up a team, and gotten some good advice on how to fix them. It's been great talking about all this with you and, what I really like about Dr. Lil and Ted's work is that it's not just about fixing things that are broken.

It's about building something even better. It's not like you reach perfect teamwork and then just stop, It's a journey. You're always growing and learning as you go. you don't have to wait for someone else to make the first move. [00:11:00] You can start bringing these ideas to your team today.

Yeah. What's one thing you can do? Maybe talk to your team about these silent tillers. Or try that feed forward thing in your next meeting. Even a small change can make a big difference. Remember, building a great team, it's a journey. The important thing is to take that first step.

We hope you've enjoyed this deep dive, and remember, even though building a great team takes work, it's definitely worth it. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.