High performing teams aren’t just more fun, they create better business results! Let me take you to effective sailboat racers. Each team member knows what is expected of them and when; how their role is integrated with others to win the race; and what happens if they have to step into another role. What are you doing to foster this kind of winning team work? Review your practices to those listed below.
Team members should understand what is expected and how they contribute to the overarching strategy.
Teams foster and are rewarded for mutual respect and collective thinking.
Team members are comfortable in discussion about different opinions.
Team members support each other and help each other grow.
The team is focused on the customer and environmental factors that impact success.
Team members prevent blunder by respectively challenging members thinking.
Team member ensure alignment, integration and unique work.
Team members are both empowered and understand their boundaries.
Effective teams are focused on on-going learning and training.
Incentive plans foster team performance.
Teams are most effective when they work from process maps! Even the best, most well meaning team cannot deliver star performance without pre-agreed process maps.
Effective teams look outside the industry.
Teams value functional expertise.
They can react strongly to “weak signals” in the market or in processes.
There is trust and respect across team members.
Additional Resources
TEAM BUILDING BOOKS
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts
Fish by Stephen C. Lundin, PhD and Harry Paul and John Christensen
The Power of Alignment G. Labovitz, john Wiley and Sons 1997
WEB SITE FOR TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES
http://wilderdom.com/games/InitiativeGames.html
www.2d4b.com