Have you ever asked yourself, “Is the group of people I’m working with dysfunctional?” If you haven’t, you’re either oblivious or new to the work world. It’s an important question to ask on a regular basis, because the problems that undermine collective success usually start as small issues, either between people on the team or between the team and its outside stakeholders.

And it’s naturally a difficult question to answer. When you work in the same environment every day, the habits and patterns of behavior become part of the experience of being at work. The nature of the group is hard to discern when you’re a part of it. To ask someone to objectively evaluate his or her own workgroup is like asking a fish to describe water.

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