As a first order of business, teams should commit to writing a charter that spells out its responsibilities and goals. Your charter should also describe a desired outcome, so that the team can recognize when it has completed its assignment. Review that document as soon as your team's agenda becomes murky. Suddenly, you're the second team. Most companies don't enjoy the luxury of the New York Yankees, who know that, as long as he's under contract, our client Derek Jeter can play shortstop for no one else but them.
Organizations often use team members as shared resources.
They may sit on more than one team in addition to overseeing any number of individual projects. When your group exceeds its shelf life, these are the first people to bolt. They are going to give you less face time at meetings because their priority is to attend to those matters that have retained an urgency. You will feel the effects of their reduced loyalty when your group is unable to resolve issues because the critical players are chronically absent. Problem solving stalls and decision making languishes while you wait for someone to answer his or her beeper.