If you have ever worked in a dysfunctional team or organization, you know it can be a slow train to insanity.
Early in my career, I worked in a few. Every day felt like a test that led to rampant self-doubt, ridiculous working hours, and heaps of effort that never seemed to pay off. I dreaded getting noticed for good work or wins because teammates saw those successes as a slap in the face to their own efforts.
I tried to change nearly everything about myself to fit into everchanging rules and moods.
On far too many occasions I found myself asking, “Am I crazy…” or “Is this normal?”
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I was young and not far enough into my career to know that not only was I working in a dysfunctional team, but I needed to find a strategy to navigate the chaos.
Looking back, the oddest part of my experience was a team that turned dysfunction into a game. They watched with pride when a teammate bore the real-life career and personal consequences of their stunts.
Dysfunction is exhausting. It’s time and energy consuming activity that only serves one mission – the creation of chaos.
Recognize the Dysfunction Without Absorbing It
The signs of a dysfunctional team or organization:
- Absence of Trust: Team members aren’t comfortable being vulnerable or truthful. Team members are guarded, protective, and closed off.
- Fear of Conflict: When trust is absent, individuals are less likely to challenge ideas or engage in discussion.
- Lack of Commitment: Without trust, there won’t be buy-in on commitments and a lack of commitment to team goals.
- Avoidance of Accountability: When individuals don’t trust each other, they will be less willing to hold each other accountable for their actions.
- Inattention to Results: All of this usually leads to an inability to achieve consistent results. No one is measuring, comparing, or evaluating the way results compare with goals.
Seeing these listed in context makes them seem easy to spot. However, when your head is spinning from the daily frenzy a lack of organization can cause, you don’t always see things for what they really are. You only feel their effects.
The ability to recognize dysfunction is powerful. It helps put the chaos outside of you so you can reclaim your focus.
Now What?
Step One is recognizing the debacle. Step Two is building your internal resilience so you can operate without going insane.
I know your initial feeling is to quit or run away from the situation you’re in. However, in the real world, most of us need to remain employed until we can find our next opportunity.
So, the helpful thing for me to do is to give you strategies to turn your frustration into focus so you can even thrive amidst the dysfunction.
Here are the five strategies that will help you remain strong and navigate the chaos:
- Set Micro-Boundaries: You can’t fix a broken system overnight — but you can defend your time and energy.
Protect your calendar and to-do list. Block “quiet time” each day, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Say no to tasks that aren’t yours. You are allowed to say, “Let me get back to you on that,” instead of instantly agreeing to chaos. - Focus on What You Can Control: In a dysfunctional team, there’s endless bait to react, argue, or over-explain yourself. Don’t. Stay laser-focused on what you can influence: your work, your attitude, your development. Everything else? Noise. Treat distractions like spam emails — hit delete without reading.
- Find Anchors of Sanity
One good colleague. A professional mentor. A friend outside the madness. Build relationships that remind you: “This isn’t normal, and you’re not crazy.” Isolation is dysfunction’s favorite sidekick. Don’t let it win. - Use This Time as a Skill-Building Lab: Every frustrating situation is secretly a masterclass in emotional intelligence, communication, and boundary-setting. Document the leadership lessons you’re learning — both what to do and what never to do.
- Always Be Ready (Even If You’re Staying for Now): Update your resume. Track your wins. Keep an eye on opportunities. Even if you’re not ready to leave yet, staying prepared gives you leverage. The simple act of planning your exit can make today’s dysfunction feel less suffocating.
What I’ve Learned About Dysfunctional Teams and Organizations
The only person who can change a dysfunctional team or organization is the person (or people) who created them.
For a long time, I felt like the problems were mine to fix. I could save the day!
WRONG.
When you don’t have the power to enforce change, you are often spinning your wheels and expending copious amounts of time and energy on a broken system that no one wants to fix.
The truth? Broken systems benefit someone, and there is a reason(s) they don’t get fixed. I am only meant to play in that system for a short time.
Dysfunction doesn’t get to define you. It doesn’t get to own your energy, your ambition, or your future.
When you stop trying to fix a broken system and start mastering your own focus, you shift the power dynamic. You affect change where it really matters – in yourself.
You become the calm in the storm, the strategist in a sea of reactors. Stay sharp. Stay ready. You’re not just surviving this — you’re building a foundation for something far bigger than this broken chapter.
