Identifying ineffective team members

In our day to day work place we come across many different type of people, all with different attributes and ambitions. Some are excellent to have in our team, and many may not be excellent but are willing to learn and change. It is important to identify the ineffective team members sooner rather then later in order to maintain the chemistry and formality between your team.

In saying that I thought it would be useful to create a list below regarding 7 characteristics of ineffective team members.

1. Ineffective team members don't pull their weight
They simply don't contribute enough and don't live up to commitments. As a result of this they increase the workload for other team members.

2. They are unwilling to share
While there quick to learn from others and find out what's going on, they often persist to share their knowledge and experience with others. They think of learning and sharing as a one way traffic.

3. Not worthy of trust
They don't tend to keep a secret and if you happen to share confidence with them, they misuse that information. They often like to talk of the problems affecting others, while keeping theirs to themselves.

4. Pursue personal goals
While there's nothing wrong with pursuing personal goals because all of us do that, however this shouldn't be at the cost of team goals. Ineffective team members don't tend to be on the same page as the team and like to choose their own priorities and areas of interest instead which do not fit in well with the team's agenda and overall priorities.

5. Blaming & Excuses
Ineffective team members usually like to make excuses for not performing to their full potential and blaming others is usually a common behavior.

6. Pessimistic & Negative
They usually like to express their gloomy and negative energy amongst others. Usually resistant against any move or idea by the team because they are close minded and make assumptions prior to understanding what's involved.

7. Lack of Sensitivity
Feelings and needs of other team members do not concern them. Yet, they expect their colleagues to be very careful about trampling upon their own feelings. As a result, ineffective team members have no sense of timing, bring up issues at the wrong times and exaggerate perceived insults when none are meant.




Question:

What do you think is one of the worst characteristics that a team member can have?