Effective Team-building Requires a System
Creating exceptional teams isn't a matter of chance but rather a result of deliberate actions and well-structured systems. As James Clear wisely stated, "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." While being a kind leader is beneficial, it's not sufficient to ensure the outcomes we desire—high performance, staff harmony, and reduced turnover. So, what actionable steps are necessary to cultivate truly great teams?
A Structured Approach:
Embracing a laissez-faire attitude towards team development is a recipe for mediocrity. Instead, effective chamber leaders implement thoughtful systems to foster greatness within their teams. As a Chamber leader, nurturing a high-performing team should be a central project. Just as policy development projects or member recruitment campaigns have distinct protocols and plans, team-building demands a similarly structured approach.
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions:
Patrick Lencioni's seminal book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" sheds light on the common hurdles leaders face in team-building and offers techniques to overcome them. Let's delve into techniques to address each dysfunction, with a view to integrating them into your team-building system:
Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions and Techniques to Overcome Them
1. Absence of Trust:
Trust forms the bedrock of any successful team. Without it, collaboration and openness suffer. To foster trust, engage in exercises like personal history sharing and team effectiveness assessments. The goal is to get to know your teammates, to better understand them as a whole person.
Team effectiveness assessments, involve each team member picking one area that a teammate does best and one where they do worst. Although seemingly awkward at first, if done respectfully, these exercises humanize team members and encourage empathy and understanding. Your role as the team leader is to ensure all are heard and discussion proceeds in a respectful manner.
2. Fear of Conflict:
Conflict, when managed constructively, drives innovation and growth. Although it might seem counter-intuitive at first, your team-building system should actively and frequently mine for conflicts. I’m not talking about stoking interpersonal conflicts, but uncovering conflicts of approach. For example, how you decide to approach improving customer service or promoting an upcoming event.
Encourage healthy debate by normalizing conflict as a means to surface diverse viewpoints. If they are left undiscovered, there is risk that they may fester and surface at inopportune times and places. At staff meetings, productive team leaders integrate opportunities to actively seek out conflicts of ideas rather than avoiding them and provide guidance on respectful conflict resolution.
3. Lack of Commitment:
Achieving consensus isn't always feasible nor desirable. So what can you do about the staff member that doesn’t agree with the decision? Leaders must make tough decisions, understanding that not everyone will agree. Encourage respectful debate while providing clarity on decisions and their rationale. Sometimes it also helps to prepare and discuss a worst-case scenario so that those that are slower to come around to a team decision can better understand that it won’t be a catastrophe if the decision is not the right one.
Certainty contributes significantly to decision buy-in. Setting deadlines, repeating and reminding teammates of decisions also contribute to commitment. Message frequency and delivery of the same message by different teammates, from top to bottom, can also greatly enhance commitment.
Your team-building system should frequently and clearly repeat key messages, set deadlines, and discuss worst-case scenarios to enhance commitment.
4. Avoidance of Accountability:
Commitment to a decision is one thing, accountability in its execution is another. A high-performing team knows what its objectives are, collectively and individually, and actively build a culture of accountability. Establish clear goals and standards and publicize them to reinforce accountability.
Make sure your team-building system schedules progress reviews and implement team rewards to foster a culture of ownership and responsibility. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but at the same time, don’t ignore missed deadlines. Address difficult issues head-on and tie financial incentives to measurable outcomes.
5. Inattention to Results:
Transparent communication regarding objectives is crucial for motivating teams. Celebrate achievements and ensure that rewards are meaningful and tied to specific goals. Does your team-building system employ SMART goals? The probability of achieving and exceeding results is always enhanced if the goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Find time to clearly and transparently describe expected results.
Financial incentives may be effective, but non-monetary rewards can also drive performance. If you do use financial incentive, ensure that additional compensation is tied to a numerical goal - member revenue or sponsor revenue, for example.
Building high-performing teams requires a proactive approach focused on overcoming dysfunctions and implementing effective techniques. While there are no guarantees in human interaction, by treating team-building as a project and employing systematic techniques, Chamber leaders can significantly impact workplace culture and performance. Try these techniques and start creating a truly exceptional team today.
