They say the job would be easy if it wasn't for the staff! Often it is just one member of staff, one person who disrupts the harmony in the team. Not everyone in the team dislikes them but nobody likes them. This individual is hard work they always seem to want to do things different to the rest of the team if everyone else wants the window open because it's hot they want it closed because it's too draftee. They don't see why they should give way just because they are in a minority. Or may be its just two individuals who seem to rub each other up the wrong way and end up not speaking to each other. This is all very immature but don't assume that these two scenarios don't happen in senior management teams.

What's needed is some team building. You could try and get the team to go for a drink after work but that's not likely to work after the Christmas meal fiasco. We couldn't agree when to go, where to go or whether partners were invited. Truth is we didn't want to socialise outside of work so team building would have to be in work time, not optional and with a skilled facilitator.

The away from the office day was expensive, hard going and only reinforced views.

Then I read about two top premiership league footballers who couldn't stand each other but when the transfer window closed they found themselves in the same team. Throughout their time together at the club they never spoke to each other. During this period the club was very successful and their striking partnership was considered the best in the league and the bases of the team's success. In his autobiography the team manager wrote that he was never able to get to the bottom of the animosity between the two but didn't care as long as they got on with their job and did it well. He also revealed that although this team was often held up as an example of people working well together most of the players did not socialise together. He went so far as to say people don't have to like each other to be good at their job or to work together well they just need to know what is expected and deliver.

This seemed to go against everything we are told about successful teams, the importance of good team spirit and the role of the manager in achieving this. Except it didn't. I worked for a very authoritarian chief executive who didn't care whether his team got on together or not, in fact he encouraged people to compete as in" I asked each Directorate to identify 10 % cuts and Education have already come back with a plan to deliver 12 %." Performance targets were achieved and exceeded budget cuts were delivered and the authority moved up the league table. Success was achieved without any socialising outside of work, debate was discouraged and criticism viewed as disloyalty.

Maybe the chief executive read the same autobiography after all he was a massive football fan.

Blair McPherson author of Equipping managers for an uncertain future and People management in a harsh financial climate both published by Russell House http://www.blairmcpherson.co.uk/