Hello Guest ...
Here's the next in our series of weekly managerial TIPS (Techniques, Insights, and Practical Solutions) to help you better engage your team in the activities that lead to higher performance.
CORE Bites #25: Contrary to popular opinion, there is an 'I' in team! (Yes, all those posters that claim otherwise are just plain wrong!) No matter how you look at it, teams are made up of individuals and when these individuals work together cohesively — they produce brilliant outcomes. But when individuals don't work well together the resulting behaviors are dysfunctional and unproductive.
We all know that high-performance teamwork results in improved products and services for customers and other stakeholders. We also know that teams are a proven way to accomplish an organization's strategic performance objectives. So why do so many teams flounder and fail to deliver consistent results?
Although there are several reasons, one of the most common is a lack of individual accountability (within a team structure). This typically occurs when a team leader focuses on developing team concepts without first establishing a foundation of individual accountability — in essence, before you can have self-directed teams, you must have self-directed individuals.
High Value Activity (HVA) Action Step: There is no 'one-size-fits-all' strategy to teams; every individual must be considered within the context of the entire team. While it's true that team output can be "greater than the sum of its parts," how the "parts" Connect/Collaborate/Communicate (C3) determines the level of success of the team. Remember, quantity doesn't necessarily translate into quality! These HVA steps will help bring your 'TEIM' together to build a stronger, more cohesive group:
- Agree on the Team Mission/Purpose: When everyone shares a common 'connection' to a vision, purpose, or goal (a panoptic view), it can clear up any misunderstandings about how each individual role contributes to the project or work being done by the team.
- [Important!] Leverage Individual Strengths: Each team member brings different KSAs and experiences to the group. The key to an extraordinary team is discovering how these attributes work together in the best way possible. Metaphorically, if you think of these KSAs and experiences as the gears/cogs in an analog clock, there are large cogs and there are small cogs ... but they ALL serve a purpose. Applying that metaphor means that — depending on what the team is working on — an individual's KSAs may be more important (large cog) or less important (small cog) at any given point so his/her contribution to the team's output may change. Don't be afraid to adjust individual roles as a team project roles out.
- Create Individual Goals (within the team construct): Without individual goals, team members may lose sight of how they should be contributing. In a team setting, it's easy for some team members to 'coast by' while others do the heavy lifting. Creating individual accountability builds a more cohesive team and reduces the risk of some individuals becoming demotivated or overwhelmed by the workload. [The slogan TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More includes the word "together" for a reason ...]
- Include a Teamwork C3 (Connect/Collaborate/Communicate) Segment in Your Coaching/Tuning Sessions: Discuss the employee's contribution to team goals during every coaching/tuning session. Outline strengths and describe areas for improvement. This will demonstrate (and reinforce) how much the entire organization values teamwork.
- Reinforce Individual Activities/Behaviors (within the team construct): When the team meets (hopefully exceeds) goals and outcome/timeline expectations, be sure to focus on the actual behaviors and activities that made a difference. Don't focus on the individual(s); instead, focus on what specific individuals did (the activities/behaviors). This will reinforce the individual contribution to the overarching team goal.
I'd love to hear how this HVA works for you!
P.S. In case you're wondering ... yes ... this is my license plate.
Have a brilliant day ... and enjoy the journey!
Neil Dempster, PhD, MBA
RESULTant™ and Behavioral Engineer
