Now you have worked on yourself, it’s time to take a look at those around you. You can’t be a leader without other people. This step is all about how and why teams work – or don’t. We are tribal creatures, and not only do we need others to survive on a human level, we also need teams to help us achieve and progress. No one has all the skills, time and perspectives to be brilliant at everything.
Your team is what makes you successful.
It’s a sad truth that many people haven’t learned either how to be on a team or how to lead one. This step is going to give you the tools and approaches to be the boss you wish you had always had.
Patrick Lencioni
-expert and guru in teamwork-
‘Teamwork gives you the competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful, but so rare.’
My quest is to make it not so rare. I want real teamwork to be the norm, so that people feel all of the benefits of it. I’m talking about a sense of belonging, fun, energy, success and deep trust. No team is perfect and every team is constantly evolving and changing. My job, when working with a leadership team, is to understand the context of the team, the stories, the relationships and the dynamics. I look for its strengths and weaknesses so we can name what’s going on, accept it and move forward together.
How it Works
I take them right back to basics before building the team back up again. What I mean by that is that we deconstruct what a team is, the core behaviours needed and how they work together. We look at their purpose, goals and targets, and the team members then decide how they want to work together. Together we put in the structures and boundaries so people can do their best work and thinking, and quickly move from storming to high performance. It’s intense and not for the fainthearted, but the rewards for those who are willing to go there are so sweet.
When I talk to leaders about their team, most of them are frustrated. What they want is very simple and clear:
Others to step up and lead so they can focus on leading the business. But is this how a team works?