Think About Building A Team [5x5s]

Five Things To Think About For Five Minutes on the subject of BUILDING A TEAM

1. Look for people with potential.
Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, writes: "The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there.  No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and figured out where to drive it."  The takeaway is that we need to look for the best people possible to be on our team, even if we don't have a position for them.  Once they're on board, the leader can create a position based on their giftedness.  Potential can be measured in the areas of influence, strengths, capabilities, attitude, etc.  Always be on the look out for the right people, even if you don't necessarily have a specific job for them to do at first.

2. Set clear expectations.
When people sign up for something, they want to have some idea of what they're signing up for.  Expectations allow most of your team to do their jobs right, and allow a few to exceed them (Think about this...if you brought on the right people, there will always be some that exceed expectations).  Expectations should speak to commitment levels, proper modes and methods of communication, time factors involved in projects, and what constitutes excellence on the team.  If you want to see an example, you can read my previous post, Managing Expectations.

3. Offer a compelling vision.
In the Jim Collins quote above, he mentions knowing where to drive the bus.  This is key.  The people on your team will want to be a part of a worthy, lifechanging, go-to-places-you-never-dreamed-existed team.  The leader offers this type of experience to the team by giving them a vision of a unique future that the team is working towards.  Whenever a leader offers a vision, it is important to paint a picture for the team of where the team is going and to place the team members within that picture.  Help the team to know what success will look like and what they will look like acheiving it.

4. Develop a relationship beyond the project.
Play.  Engage.  Get to know each other.  The foundation of any team is trust.  Trust is developed through relationship.  When we move beyond our roles, responsibilities, and tasks and simply hang out as people, enjoying each other's company, something happens that deepens the relationship.  This isn't to say that everyone on the team needs to be best buddies.  But being friends is a definite plus to the team's morale and group dynamic.
/UPDATE/ Over at To-Done, they have an excellent list of ideas of how to play while on the job.  While it is more of a personal philosophy of play, it does offer creative ways to enjoy your team's company and build relationship.

5. Deal with conflict quickly.
Don't be surprised by conflict.  Conflict happens.  People don't always agree.  If you have brought the best people onto your team, they will probably have a different opinion and viewpoint on certain issues.  That's good.  Allow conflict to help the team find the best possible solutions and to better understand where each other is coming from.  But be on the lookout for issues that can cause division.  The rule of thumb here is to fear division, not discussion.
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Use this material in conjunction with the 5x5s worksheet.
Download the 5x5s Worksheet here.
What is 5x5s?  Read more about it here.

Comments

[Dick Richards]

Have I found another Iggles fan in the blogosphere? You?

I think that the relationship between McNabb and Owens will probably work OK -- until crunch time when everybody's nerves are on edge.

I once mentioned the "commitment to one another's success" factor to the CEO of a utilities company. His reply was, "Oh great! What am I supposed to do about all of the megalomaniacal egotists on my team?" Sadly, I had no good answer for him (group therapy maybe) except to be careful with his company's succession plan.

[timage]

Good stuff Dick. I appreciate the addition of research (as most of my thoughts are merely assumptions and an accumulation of reading) to the post. In putting these five thoughts together, I wanted #4 to emphasize the relational aspect of being on a team. I believe that such things as "common purpose" and "success" are a vital part of any team's functionality (I think this dovetails well with #3 also). But my goal was to address the relationship beyond the parameters of the "team." Kind of like, the team that plays together, stays together.

One example of the kind of dynamic that I'm talking about would be the relationship between the Philadelphia Eagles' Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens. They would both claim that they share a common purpose and idea of what success looks like. But their relationship outside of the their professional commitment to the Eagles does have an effect on their performance (except when they play the 49ers!).

Sharing this with students last night, none of them listed this as a top priority on their 5x5 sheet. But it wasn't their lowest priority either.

Thanks for your thoughts and I'm looking forward to getting my copy of your newest book.

[Dick Richards]

About #4 -- my own research (hard social science research with all the statistical bells and whistles) showed that the two major contributors to what I call "team well-being" are "commitment to a common purpose" and "commitment to one another's success." Those qualities characterized teams who were seen as effective by people who depended on their work. The second factor suggests that the deepening of relationships has a very specific purpose. It isn't about liking one another, but about working to make a success of each team member's contribution to the team's collective efforts.

I do love your 5x5s!