If you have successfully ushered your group through the previous four phases, it will reach its creative and productive zenith in this, the final Esprit Phase ("Esprit" is French for "spirit.")
Cliques have disappeared, a strong collective identity is established, and members no longer worry about obtaining group approval – they know that they are respected. High morale, informality, and a strong sense of comradeship are on show, and the group is strongly committed to its cause.
Discussions are lively, friendly, and efficient because members are so trusting and empathic that they speak in a kind of shorthand. They deal appropriately with any conflicts that arise, and their personal agendas are visible – celebrated, even – but individuals concentrate on achieving group goals.
Their competitive energy no longer focuses on getting ahead within the group, but on gaining advantage over the team's external competitors.
"Esprit" teams largely run themselves, so you can ease back and use a lighter touch. However, esprit can ebb and flow, so it is important to guard against complacency, by setting new challenges.
How To Lead Through This Stage
- Remember that this is rare as new members enter the team, others leave, and the team is in constantly moving up and down the ladder.
- If your team reaches this stage, leaders pose powerful questions to stretch people's imaginations and creativity.
- Leaders speak last, resisting the habits of offering solutions.
- When issues arise, Leaders ask for open dialogue, are humble and lead with empathy.
- Reward effort, ideas, and behaviour, not just results.
- Set challenges to the team and allow them to solve them.
- Ask teams to vision and find solutions together.
There are many cooperation activities you can do. Google it and your engine will give you ample ideas. However, you are now in the realms of co-creation. Cooperation means at least two people working towards a common goal. Co-creation means at least 2 people finding new solutions that didn’t exist before.
Instead of asking the expert to solve a problem, bring in others to co-create something better.
Pose a question and invite others to co-create a solution.
Think about who else could contribute, customers, suppliers, competitors, other functions perhaps.
Lets Get You Thinking
1. The best co-creation efforts are targeted and specific. What is the problem, scope, or question?
2. Effective co-creation takes trust and transparency. Build trust first so people move from “I” to “WE.”
3. Good co-creation requires motivation from participants – what's in it for me/us?
4. This is not a win/win, it is more than that, it’s a multiplier so everyone wins more than they thought they could.
5. Set the behaviours, openness, discovery, curiosity, playfulness, no idea is a dumb idea.
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