WHAT DO GREAT TEAMS LOOK LIKE?

If you want to know what makes for a great team, you do not have to do research, interviewing, or modeling. That’s already been done. Jon Katzenbach, and Douglas Smith did that and reported their findings in their 1993 book, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High - Performance Organization. In that book they suggest the following five qualities or vital ingredients.

1) Trust —team members trusting each other.

2) Effective conflicting — able to work through differences.

3) Commitment — willing to make a commitment to each other.

4) Accountability — willing for all to hold each one accountable.

5) Attention to results — caring about the ultimate goal, results.

It begins with trust because trusting yourself to come through on what you say and trusting others is the foundation of any relationship and that remains equally true for leadership teams and any kind of cohesive working group which is seeking to achieve peak performance. Trust includes trusting that we can work through differences and disagreements, we can conflict about ideas, debate them, dialogue about choices, and come to a mutual understanding.

When a group of people can do that, then they are ready to make a commitment to each other and to the group as a whole. In business, we call this buy-in. This is the very thing which makes a group a team. That’s because once we are committed to our performance goals, we are willing to accept accountability and to hold each other accountable to our promises. And now, because we have gotten the individual ego out of the way and are committed to each other, we can attend to the group result rather than worry about getting enough credit.

After modeling these five key ingredients as the qualities of a great team, Patrick Lencioni went on to write another book, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2005). In this work, he focused on the same five qualities, but now in reverse. What if you don’t have them? His description of these five dysfunctions is so well written, that I have quoted him verbatim:

“Absence of trust: members of great teams trust one another on a fundamental, emotional level, and they are comfortable being vulnerable with each other about their weaknesses, mistakes, fears, and behaviors. They get to a point where they can be completely open with one another. This is essential because ...

Fear of Conflict: teams that trust one another are not afraid to engage in passionate dialogue around issues and decisions that are key to the organization’s success. They do not hesitate to disagree with, challenge, and question one another, all in the spirit of finding the best answers, discovering the truth, and making great decisions. This is important because...

Lack of Commitment: teams that engage in unfiltered conflict are able to achieve genuine buy-in around important decisions, even when various members of the team initially disagree. That’s because they ensure that all opinions and ideas are put on the table and considered, giving confidence to team members that no stone has been left unturned. This is critical because ...

Avoidance of Accountability: teams that commit to decisions and standards of performance to not hesitate to hold one another accountable for adhering to those decisions and standards. They don’t rely on the team leader as the primary source of accountability; they go directly to their peers. This matters because ...

Inattention to results: tams that trust one another engage in conflict, commit to decisions, and hold one another accountable are very likely to set aside their individual needs and agendas and focus almost exclusively on what is best for the team. They do not give in to the temptation to place their departments, career aspirations, or ego-drive status ahead of the collective results that define team success.” (page 7)

If you coach, train, or consult with groups and teams, and if you want to create some highly effective teams, these five features of teams gives you a great place to start.

Meta-Coaching News Group & Team Meta-Coaching (GTMC) will occur in Hong Kong in December.

References: Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K. (1993/ 1999). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High - Performance Organization. New York: A HarperBusiness Book. Lencioni, Patrick. (2005). Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide. San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass. Lencioni, Patrick. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass.