Whether it is a new team, an existing team experiencing a change in structure, strategy, or context, or a team not working at its potential, investing energy to build trust, clarity, and align intent will accelerate team performance.
Creating the right conditions and capabilities for success is crucial, and leaders play a big role in this work. In addition to the right conditions, five key factors must be in place to succeed: Trust, purpose, teaming ability, governance, and mutual accountability. Each of these areas expands to include multiple elements, and all must be in good health for teams to perform well. Any change (change in conditions, context, purpose) can require a team to recalibrate these core factors. This is why leaders must pay attention to how members operate and invest time to build or strengthen the team.
Capacity Group has worked with senior teams for over three decades to help them perform better. For any executive, the biggest lever is the ability to cultivate and lead a high-performing team. Partnering with our clients, we start with understanding the context for team success, diagnosing how the team is currently performing, and the adjustments most needed to drive stronger team performance that brings out the best contribution of its members. We then work with the leader to design a series of working sessions to help the team enrich competence, trust, and capacity in how it operates.
As a leader, take a moment to reflect on your team, as it is easy to get stuck in patterns that don’t support high performance. Ask yourself:
- Are we developing at or better than the rate of change in our business conditions?
- Are we aligned in our vision now and for the future?
- To what degree do we spend time talking about the future vs. managing the day-to-day?
- Is our collective leadership greater than our work individually?
- Do we share a deep sense of purpose and commitment?
- To what degree are we driving our business agenda?
- To what degree do we have open and inclusive dialog even when we disagree?
Given the tremendous changes over the last few years, it’s time to take a pulse check on your team. Reach out if you would like to talk further about how to enhance your team’s ability to lead today and in the future.