“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare,” Pat Lencioni wrote in the introduction of his book, “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.”
He continues, “that the founder of a company, which grew to a billion dollars in annual revenue, best expressed the power of teamwork when he said, ‘If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.’”
That’s why having a set of principles for building teams is vitally important. Without them, you are sure to hire the wrong people far too often. I have developed a set of principles based on experience, knowledge and with a little help from my friends. I recently had the opportunity to test my principles for building teams with a very difficult partner, who was a very successful executive coach. Even though he taught these principles to others, did not live them. And, consequently, had very high staff turnover.
So, if you want to build a high performing team, you must establish some ground rules. These ground rules are rules for healthy relationships and healthy communications.
But, first, you must have some essential elements to build a great team.
- A well understood and shared purpose and vision with a shared approach and strategy
- An organized group dedicated to accomplishing the purpose (or mission) of the organization
- An organization committed to being held accountability
- People who are committed to communicating clearly and effectively
- A shared set of group and personal performance standards. I call them core values. Some call them operating agreements or behaviors.
- High frequency of interaction between all the team members.
Then, secondly, you must have some ground rules. Here are just a sample that I like, but you might want to have your own and have more than these:
- Honor all agreements. Clear up any potential or actual broken agreements as quickly as possible.
- Be on time or be early to all appointments, meetings, deadlines. And, respond to all requests/contacts within 24 hours.
- Finish what you start. Organizational integrity depends on individual integrity. Do what you say, say what you mean and don’t say it mean.
- Stay in exchange. Commit to maintain open and honest communications and in all your business dealings.
- Demand compliance with the rules. To maximize results you must be willing to call people out when they break the rules and be called out when you break them.
- Do whatever it takes to win. Support a performance-based culture where accountability and results are prized, but not at the peril of people or processes.
- Drive a true sense of urgency into your team. Demand performance based on measurement and become unreasonable about demanding results from yourself, your team, the market and the universe.
Third, keep in mind that trust is a two-way street and requires communication, so consider these tenets around the subject of trust and communication:
- Communicate trust. The more trust you have the smoother your partnership is going to be. Show your partner and teammates that they can trust you. Find ways to build trust in them. Show them regularly that you do trust them. Let your partner take the lead on a project. Tell them you trust in their ability to perform a job well or manage a challenging client relationship.
- If there is friction, consider that maybe it’s you who’s difficult to get along with. Sometimes by trying to fix the other person we’re going about things backwards. Try fixing yourself and you may end up fixing your teammate.
- Eliminate the “you” vs. “them” mentality. Train yourself to think and talk always in terms of “us” and “we” when speaking to your partner. They’ll be quick to pick up on it.
- Show them that you’re not greedy. You’re working to build the same money pile for most part anyway. Send them a client that you could have taken for yourself. Do anything to demonstrate your willingness to share.
- Show them that you have their back. People resist you and put up walls out of fear of losing something. Maybe it’s their pride. Maybe it’s money. Let them see you are looking out for them and not out to get something from them.
- Ask their opinion on a variety of decision-making topics. Follow their opinion with, “I think you’re making a good point.” Sometimes you must go with their opinion. When you don’t go with their opinion, simply be upfront about the matter. Start with, “This time we’re going to do something different.”
- Let them shine as well. Don’t take every opportunity to be the spokesperson for your team. On that next speaking opportunity, let them do it or at least ask them if they would like to also. Offer to let them write that article for that next company newsletter.
Fourth, a team that plays together stays together. Celebrate all wins. Build momentum and energy in your team by stopping to recognize the wins both large and small. Commit to track them and review them with the team regularly. Hold one another accountable. A team that holds one another accountable:
- Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve
- Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards
- Develops an ability to learn from mistakes
- Avoids excessive bureaucracy around performance management
A team that avoids accountability:
- Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance
- Encourages mediocrity
- Misses deadlines and key deliverables
- Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline
The author is the founder of the Goldhill Group, a consulting firm based in Los Angeles. He can be reached at Jon@TheGoldhillGroup.com.
