According to a survey of 2,002 employees by workplace psychologists OPP, 16% admitted that they did not know what was preventing their team from performing better but 48% believed that poor leadership was a barrier to team success.
Almost as many (46%) thought that internal communication within the team was holding back its performance and 24% felt their team lacked a clear and defined purpose.
Ameet Thakkar, principal consultant at OPP, said: "There is no one right or wrong way for a team to work as success factors depend on the people making up the team, their objectives and the cultural environment in which they work. However, there are professional techniques to help teams identify points of strength and weakness, enabling them not only to work more efficiently but also with clearer communication and a common purpose.
"More and more businesses recognise the importance of understanding the various personality types within their teams. This can make clearer the best way to resolve problems, improve communication and achieve better performance as a team.
"Ineffective team-working can have a real and significant impact on the bottom line - so with huge numbers of British workers operating in teams as part of their job, finding a way to maximise their efficiency can only improve a business's performance. Never is this more pertinent than during and post-recession, when teams may feel stretched and demotivated."