Digital Article Overview

• Title: To Improve Your Team, First Work on Yourself

• Author: Jennifer Porter

• Published on: HBR.org / January 29, 2019

• Reprint: H04RGC

• Copyright: © 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing

• Usage: Authorized only for Makayla King in CSUF MKTG 489 - Spring 2026 taught by Ty Woolworth at the University of California - Irvine

Introduction

• Meeting Context: Observation of a leadership team discussing their annual planning process.

• Meeting Challenges:

  • Discussion lasted 45 minutes with unclear leadership and objectives

  • Derogatory comments made by members, creating an off-topic dialogue and lack of progress

The Question Raised

• Focus of the Intervention:

  • "How are you reacting to this conversation and what in you is causing your reaction?"

• Reactions:

  • Blank stares from the team, showcasing surprise and confusion

  • Expectation for intervention to point to others' faults rather than self-reflection

Theme of Dysfunctionality

• Common Feedback: Teams describe themselves as “dysfunctional.”

• Typical Responses:

  • Blame specific team members for problematic behaviors

  • Generalizations about “them” (referring to other team members)

Understanding Team Dynamics

• Team Analysis:

  • Teams are complex systems of individuals with diverse preferences, skills, experiences, and habits.

• Improvement requires:

  • Mastery of three foundational capabilities:

  1. Internal Self-Awareness

  2. External Self-Awareness

  3. Personal Accountability

Internal Self-Awareness

• Definition:

  • Understanding one’s own feelings, beliefs, values, and inner narrative.

• Importance:

  • A lack of awareness can lead to the fundamental attribution error, where individuals assume others’ behaviors result from negative intentions while justifying their own behavior as circumstantial.

  • Example:

  • Manuel vs. Tara

    • Manuel (low awareness) reacts negatively to Tara's big-picture thinking, failing to acknowledge his discomfort with differing perspectives.

    • Manuel's perceptions may lead to misjudgment of Tara's capabilities, affecting team dynamics negatively.

Learning Internal Self-Awareness

• Suggested Reflective Questions:

  • What emotions am I experiencing?

  • What am I assuming about another person or the situation?

  • What are the facts vs. my interpretations?

  • What are my core values, and how might they be impacting my reactions?

• Quote:

  • William Deresiewicz: “[The] first thought is never [the] best thought.”

External Self-Awareness

• Definition:

  • Understanding the impact of one's words and actions on others.

• Challenge:

  • Many individuals are unaware of how their behaviors affect colleagues, limiting their effectiveness and the team's productivity.

Building External Self-Awareness

• Suggested Observation Strategies:

  • Watch for colleagues' reactions (e.g., body language, silence, vocal tone).

  • Recognize that personal beliefs may skew interpretations of others’ reactions.

• Direct Feedback Approach:

  • Ask teammates specific questions to gain insights:

  • What am I doing in team meetings that is helpful?

  • What am I doing that is not helpful?

  • If you could change one part of how I interact with the team, what would it be?

  • Timing is crucial; choose appropriate moments for feedback.

Personal Accountability

• Definition:

  • Holding oneself accountable rather than focusing on holding others accountable.

• Common Response Patterns:

  • Blaming others, defending oneself, avoiding responsibility.

Steps Toward Personal Accountability

1. Recognize the Problem:

   • Acknowledging an issue may be challenging as people may prefer to look away.

2. Accept Contribution to the Problem:

   • Understand that every team member may play a role in the dysfunction.

3. Take Responsibility:

   • Actively seek to resolve the conflict or issue.

4. Commit to the Resolution:

   • Remain dedicated until the problem is resolved.

Example of Personal Accountability

• Continuing the Manuel and Tara example:

  • If Manuel were accountable, he would recognize and work on his personal conflict with Tara, instead of dismissing her contribution due to his own discomfort.

Conclusion

• Recommended Action for Teams:

  • Shift from blaming frustrations onto teammates to focusing on personal reactions and accountability.

  • Implementing strategies for internal self-awareness, external self-awareness, and personal accountability can lead to more effective teamwork.

• Philosophical Insight:

  • Effective teams recognize the value in patience and taking time to develop these essential skills, aligning with the philosophy that sometimes slow progress is necessary for long-term success.

Author Information

• Name: Jennifer Porter

• Position: Managing Partner of The Boda Group

• Education: Bates College, Stanford Graduate School of Business

• Experience: Operations executive, executive and team coach
  Copyright: HBR / Digital Article / To Improve Your Team, First Work on Yourself. All rights reserved.