A successful team is about more than just assembling a skilled group of individuals. While most organisations acknowledge the positive impact of an effective team, particularly a leadership team, few create a plan to make this happen. Looking at how well a team aligns to a common purpose, roles and responsibilities, how it collaborates and communicates; and understanding its strengths, blind spots and developmental needs could be the best thing you do for the success of your business this year.

Where to start with creating a great team

A great start is to check that you have a team and not just a group. A true team has three or more people. They share a common goal and with that, they share in both success and failure, being dependent on each other in the process. Common leadership is also a factor for any team.  

Size plays a role in effectiveness. A team with more than 10 members can suffer from inefficiency, ineffectiveness and alignment problems, whereas smaller teams will ensure strong relationships, healthy debate and actioned decisions.

There is no algorithm or best method for putting different people together, but purposeful design and deliberate development are essential. If the team leader (be it a CEO or manager) can successfully play the role of developer, the team will function more effectively.

At times, leaders can inherit teams that come with habits which have evolved over time and are no longer working. However, the old adage, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is not true. When it comes to the human brain we can learn to think differently, both individually and together, we just need to take team members on the journey to do this.   

The role of the team leader

From the leader’s perspective, it can be a fine balance as to what role they should play on the team at any given time. Leaders need to take a situational leadership approach to determine when they should lead from the front, back or side. Team dysfunction can be a result of leaders spending too much or too little time leading from the front or behind, abdicating leadership, dominating or being the referee. At times, utilising an external facilitator is best. An external facilitator can have more licence to make observations on team behaviour and can therefore make the implicit more explicit.

Team diversity versus commonality

Some leaders intuitively understand that they need the right mix of people in terms of skills, experience and personality. That said, too often, leaders promote people who are technically strong in their roles without considering a team’s collective capability. Understanding the skills and characteristics needed for cohesion will ensure a balance of traits. When putting together a team, we don’t want a group of clones. Diversity in personality and thinking are common features in high-functioning teams.

Here lies the dichotomy – a high-performing team needs diversity to span the various roles needed for effective functioning and problem solving. Too much of the same thing and the team can lead the organisation in the wrong direction. But it also needs commonality regarding purpose and values to bind members together and bring alignment on context, understanding why the team exists (its purpose), what success looks like (its mission) and its core underlying values. Without this “north star” the team can feel rudderless.

Building a strong team

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. A tailored approach is needed to fit with the team and its current needs. Every team is different, whether new, fractured or merging, or a strong unit that is looking to be even more effective.

To be successful, a team needs feedback on how it is doing. This allows it to develop a plan for the areas that matter (and celebrate what it’s doing well). The leader or facilitator can identify key areas that need work and guide the team through a framework to ensure it has the right insights and robust conversations to move forward. This will also ensure accountability – and making use of an initial assessment, survey or feedback process is a great starting platform. 

True team development is more than undertaking a feel-good activity. These can be fun and members may feel effects for a few days, but these activities typically fail to raise effectiveness in the long term or build the level of trust needed. Team development (including trust) is built through doing real work together. A good facilitator, be it a CEO, team leader or an external person, can provide guidance through these insights and ensure the right discussions are being had against a proven team framework. However, it is the team that does the real work.

Psychologist Gordan Curphy has researched a helpful prescriptive and sequenced model that acts as a useful guide for team development. It includes looking at key areas such as:

• The context the team operates in
• Establishing its purpose, vision and mission – why the team exists and what success look like
• Roles and responsibilities of each team member
• Team norms including communication, decision-making and accountability
• Team motivation and buy-in
• Approach to conflict
• Measuring results and outcomes against goals

Do we really want to talk conflict?

Many teams are afraid of conflict or “opening a can of worms”, but conflict is a hallmark of a high-performing team. A lack of conflict can make for artificial harmony where it appears agreeable, but players are subtly not in agreement. This can often make for silos, undercurrents, passive aggressiveness and dysfunction that is incredibly damaging to team morale and difficult to manage.  Having robust conversations, addressing issues and agreeing to how the team is going to do conflict is incredibly valuable.  

How effective is your team?

Building and developing a team is a process. It requires ongoing commitment and investment of time and energy, but the advantages and rewards are plentiful. The most successful teams actively refine their context and purpose, and how they collaborate, communicate and drive results. They are proactive in doing the real work, holding each other to account and consistently seeking and applying feedback.

The question begs, how effective is your team? And what steps can you take to move it forward?

If your team needs an assessment survey or you want to know more about how to map and develop your team, contact our Team learning and dynamics specialists.