# Managing Groups and Teams/Discipline 

So, how much should your team be disciplined? As team leader, are you
wholly responsible? Clearly, whatever procedures and policies exist for
your organization should be followed, but what if a team member is
consistently late for meetings? Or if someone is social loafing? Should
you be the one, as team leader, to correct the problem? Maybe not.

Balancing between disciplining your team and building your team can
sometimes be difficult and is often viewed as two opposite behaviors.
However, by building a stronger team, you can also develop a team that
essentially self-disciplines. By building in mutual accountability into
your team, the team will become self-disciplining. Team building, to
this end, should focus on gaining common goals, purpose, and process.

Following the guidelines for team building can be essential in creating
a self-disciplining team. Developing ground rules and assigning the task
of ensuring each rule is followed to individual team members can be key.
Additionally, spend some team time discussing and planning consequences
for discipline. It can also be helpful for the team to create a visible
method of logging or recording team measures, which should include:

-   the agreed standards to which the team is working to
-   how frequently each of the measures will normally be repeated
-   who should receive feedback on the results (this would normally be
    the team, but can include people outside the team if it is
    appropriate)
-   who is responsible for initiating the re-measurement process

Team fun should be planned around the goals (both short term and long
term). For example, team building "ice breakers" are great only if they
further the mission and function of the team. Select "ice breakers"
based on goals for that particular meeting. Need to increase
communication among members? Play a game of "telephone." Need to work on
creativity? Play a "think outside the box" game. Additionally, though,
don't de-value general bonding and getting to know team members.
Supporting the team barbecue or coffee break can go a long way toward
improving team morale, as well as creating a team that knows and trusts
each other better.

In reality, though, teams may not easily become self-disciplining. How
do you, as a team leader, then discipline a team in the real world
without losing all the fun? If someone on your team is not pulling their
weight, it is highly possible they are blissfully unaware of the
problem. Find an appropriate way to talk to them about, be it during a
team meeting (especially if it's a concern with more than one member) or
one-on-one, using a task-oriented approach rather than a personal one.
Perhaps there is another issue that needs to be addressed that you are
unaware of. One of the worse things you could do as team leader, though,
is to ignore the problem -- it will no go away or get better unless you
can address it. Remember, too, that you may need to ultimately remove
someone from your team, if there is no resolution, no solution, and the
team and the team goal are suffering.

Finding that balance between fun and discipline is largely dependent on
the goal of the team, and the situation and relationships of the team
and you. It's largely a personal choice -- but a great team cannot exist
without both. Ask for help from the team and share the responsibility of
discipline. Keep track of expectations and progress and share the
information with the whole team. Build the team to trust each other and
perform for each other. Teamwork is difficult, but with a well lead team
results can be fantastic, and yes, even fun.

