Few things are as frustrating as being part of a dysfunctional organization. Leadership becomes not about advancing mission and vision, but rather about minimizing and managing mistakes, retaining good employees, overcoming missed expectations, and resolving unhealthy conflict.
In the National Football League, the Cleveland Browns are the team most associated with dysfunction and having a consistently unhealthy environment. During an August 18th, 2015 interview with Colin Cowherd, ex-Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn discussed why the Browns continue to flounder as an organization. As I listened to their conversation, I gleaned 7 Damaging Facts About Dysfunctional Organizations. All comments are from Quinn.
- Dysfunctional Organizations Make Everything More Difficult – “Every game was an uphill battle because of the dysfunction of the organization (Cleveland Browns).”
- Dysfunctional Organizations Are Not Aligned Properly – “There wasn’t a sense everyone was headed in the same direction.”
- Dysfunctional Organizations Lack Necessary Patience – “Building a culture takes time and no one’s patient anymore.”
- Dysfunctional Organizations Do Not Build For The Future – “The quarterback coach is there to help the starter win each week. He’s not there to develop a guy.”
- Dysfunctional Organizations Need To Get Small Wins Under Their Belts – “Winning cures all illnesses.”
- Dysfunctional Organizations Cannot Get The Most Important Positions On Their Team Right – “It’s the most important position (quarterback) in all of sports.”
- Dysfunctional Organizations Have High Leadership Turnover – This information does not come from Quinn but fits the conversation. The January 11, 2016 edition of Sports Illustrated chronicled a Tennessee State study which found teams who fired their head coach reduced their expected win total by more than 10% the following season. In addition, their odds of making the playoffs dropped by 12%. The study shows it is often better to stay with the leader you have and allow them time to develop than to make an impulsive change.
Now let us contrast the Browns with baseball’s hottest team the 2nd half of 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays. Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci had two unique leadership insights into the team in the magazine’s September 14th SI edition:
- Healthy Teams Are Willing To Acquire Experienced Proven Leadership – “Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos went on a four-day shopping binge at the end of July, in which he traded 11 prospects and a starting shortstop (Jose Reyes) for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, outfielder Ben Revere and pitchers David Price, LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe, Toronto was a 50-50 team averaging 28,700 fans at Rogers Centre. After the extreme makeover the Blue Jays ripped off the best 33-game run in franchise history (26-7), which included suddenly delirious home crowds that averaged more than 42,000.”
- Healthy Teams Have Leaders Who Consistently Bring Positive Energy – “The Blue Jays win the division because they’re the better, hotter team right now. It’s a different team. Those guys in Toronto are hungry and riding high. Guys like (Jose) Bautista and (Edwin) Encarnacion weren’t happy with some of the low-key players they’ve had in the past. Now they’ve brought in a lot of high-energy guys, and it’s bringing out the best in them. They’re playing like they feel they’re unstoppable.” – unidentified AL manager
If you are part of a dysfunctional team, acquire proven leadership who will bring positive energy to your team and start getting small wins under your belt. This is your best chance to reverse negative momentum.
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