Remember the last time you tried to change your habits in a big way? Perhaps you made a vow to eat healthier, or to listen more actively during meetings. Whatever it was, whether you ultimately succeeded or succumbed to the force of old habits, you almost certainly struggled. You may have done well early on, only to find that following through was more difficult than you expected. It’s the classic “New Year’s resolution” syndrome.

If sustaining individual commitment to change is a challenge, collective commitment in a business context is even more apt to flag over time. Every team member brings in his own story, adding to the complexity of creating effective group dynamics.

To overcome these obstacles, workplace teams need a performance culture, i.e., an embedded knack for learning and adapting. This is especially important given the growing emphasis on networked teams in today’s companies. As teams have become more central to firm activity, they’ve proliferated to the point that an increasing number of employees belong to several teams at once.

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