By Karen Natzel
The Daily Record Newswire
The business world is comprised of all kinds of teams project teams, task forces, interdisciplinary teams, leadership teams, departmental teams. You name it, and if we have something to accomplish, we can assemble a team. Yet, it seems to remain a mystery as to how to create a consistently high-performing, cohesive and accountable team. So, where's the breakdown?
A collection of talented individual contributors does not itself make for a high-performing team. There are group dynamics at work; egos that fight for air time or the need to be right, differing communication styles, power struggles, and generally healthy or unhealthy driving forces that influence the norms and protocols. These dynamics become the unwritten and often unarticulated ground rules by which the team plays. When the team doesn't play well together, it experiences enormous inefficiencies and lackluster results.
Recently I was working with a design-build team that was forming a proposal for a large, complex health care project. They recognized that the pursuit would require astute listening and collaboration skills. They wanted to demonstrate a synergistic team ready to contribute and bring value, so they hired me to facilitate a team-building session.
We started with me asking, "What are the traits of a high-performing team?" Their answers were illuminating. Some were the usual suspects: "respectful, accountable, problem-solving." Others included "active listeners and humility." Their list of attributes became their shared code of conduct and a set of expectations they collectively said "yes" to. In other words, this definition was what they were going to hold themselves accountable to as they interacted with each other moving forward.
Team dynamics
Team dynamics is human relations in action, and that can be messy. It can also be rich with connection, camaraderie, achievement and pride.
One client, recognizing that some unproductive "us vs. them" mentality had seeped into its culture, started examining the dynamics of its cross-departmental teams. This tendency to operate in departmental silos (office vs. field; accounting vs. project management; production vs. customer service; or leadership vs. the rest of the staff) can be devastating to an organization's performance.
As we examined the breakdowns between departments, we discovered that some team members were more strongly aligned within a department, rather than with the company as whole. We addressed this with a new, unifying theme, "One Company, One Team." This was more than a fabricated mantra. It started shifting how team members communicated and collaborated. They stopped tolerating gossip-laced side conversations and excuses. They started redefining success as collective results, not merely departmental progress.
Alignment
One key solution to what one of my clients termed "siloism" is to create alignment through common goals, shared values and clarity of purpose. The leadership team needs to be in alignment on what matters most. If not, factions may break off; people will build their cases to be "right" about an issue rather than contribute to a cohesive unit. Does that mean we should go blindly together off the cliff? Of course not. Healthy teams have spirited conversations and engaged dialogue to flesh out the opportunities, issues, risks and benefits, and then move forward as one team.
In the book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, A Leadership Fable," Patrick Lencioni identifies the core reasons why teams struggle:
1. Absence of trust - unwilling to be vulnerable within the group
2. Fear of conflict - seeking artificial harmony over constructive, passionate debate
3. Lack of commitment - feigning buy-in for group decisions creates ambiguity throughout the organization
4. Avoidance of accountability ducking the responsibility to call peers out on counterproductive behavior, which sets low standards
5. Inattention to results - focusing on personal success, status and ego before team success
So, let's flip that list of dysfunctions. Consider "the Five Key Indicators of Healthy, High-Performing Teams" list:
1. High trust - An environment where it is safe to admit faults and mistakes; a willingness to accept help and contribution from others; giving each other the benefit of the doubt and a shared focus on the issues, not on office politics.
2. Embrace conflict - Meetings are lively, engaged; conversations happen in the appropriate forums; issues are addressed early and with the right people; personal negative attacks or passive aggressive behavior are not tolerated.
3. Commitment - There's clear direction and shared objectives. There's less indecisiveness, and more action.
4. Accountability - Peer-to-peer accountability is expected and exercised; positive pressure is applied to develop top performance; team members hold each other in high regard to call each other out (respectfully); there's no perceived favoritism or excessive bureaucracy.
5. Attention to results - Teams are more focused and less distracted; achievement is the natural order of things; wins are celebrated; people don't tolerate what's not working.
When people feel safe to admit faults, can engage in hearty dialogue and know what's expected of them, you have an environment ripe for potential. When there's buy-in, transparency and consequences, your team will be poised to play to win; rather than playing to not lose.
Take the K Challenge:
Where will you start? You might start by making sure the company's goals and priorities are clear, concise and understood by all team members. You could invite dissenting opinions during meetings or facilitate a much-needed conversation between team members. You could stop tolerating what's not working, and keep your eyes on what matters most. You can also start by embodying these five traits in how you show up.
These shifts require regular attention and care to embed them into how a team operates day in and day out. This approach will cultivate the kind of team dynamics that will serve as a force for good producing amazing results and building forward momentum!
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Karen Natzel is a business therapist who helps leaders create healthy, vibrant and high-performing organizations. Contact her at 503-806-4361 or karen@natzel.net.
Published: Fri, Jul 24, 2015
