What’s the greatest differentiator when it comes to achieving your company’s ambitious growth goals? There’s no question: It’s a tightly aligned, high-performing leadership team. You can have the most eloquent vision statement and a well thought-out strategic plan to back it up, but if you don’t have a strong team to execute, you won’t reach your goals.
Steve Jobs said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” I couldn’t agree more.
When I think about the high-performing teams I’ve either led or been a part of, I compare them to great basketball teams. Yes, there may be one star three-pointer and another who’s known for defensive skills, but neither can win games on their own. All five players must be in sync, understand their roles and play as a team to win game after game.
Now think about your leadership team. Is each member performing at his or her peak? Is the team aligned around a singular vision?
When I work with business leaders, I begin by asking a series of questions. These include some tough ones that may uncover gaps causing the most well-intentioned teams to under-perform:
- Is the communication honest, transparent and genuine?
- Do team members hesitate to ask for help?
- Do you revisit discussions and decisions over and over?
- Are there different performance standards for team members?
- Are you afraid to bring up the “elephants” in the room?
- Is it easy for team members to give each other constructive feedback?
High-performing teams share SEVEN common characteristics:
- Mutual trust
- Ability to engage in unfiltered conflict oriented toward problem solving and the removal of obstacles
- Each team member contributes to discussions
- Team is able to commit to decisions and action plans
- Team members hold each other accountable for execution
- Focus is on the achievement of collective team results
- No one member is more important than the team
Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” is my go-to guide for creating high-performing teams. It’s a must read and the basis for my “Building a High-Performance Leadership Team” Workshop.
Becoming a high-performance team requires work, discipline and commitment, but the ROI is remarkable. Investing in your leadership team’s communications, interpersonal relationships and role clarity can make all the difference when you’re working to scale your company and reach those ambitious goals.
Ready to get started? Let’s talk.