Team in Name Only

• Unclear purpose, unclear agenda

• Individual egos, goals, and silos first

• Fear of debate, how others will react

• Meetings are a distraction from "real work"

• Avoid your peers

• Rely on leader to integrate, accountability

Real Team

Rule #1: Do not avoid the difficult conversations. Your people will know, and you'll lose credibility in their eyes.

Rule #2: Everything you communicate can be done in a way that maintains or enhances a team member's self-esteem.

Rule #3: Own your feedback. Stop saying "we" think and start saying "I" think.

Rule #4: Ask for input.

Rule #5: Communicate what you know and what you don't know.

Hold each other accountable. Don't wait for the boss. It takes too long and generates politics.

Find your singularity of purpose. If you can't initially, raise it up a level.

What are you hoarding?

Time management should be more about what you will stop doing instead of doing what you currently do more efficiently.

Follow up, even if you don't observe the behaviors.

Why?

Did you do what you committed to doing in that meeting?

Step out of your comfort zone and into your learning zone, without overstepping.

Go directly to each other with issues - in person.

Give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Keep the overall team/organizational focus in mind when making decisions. Get rid of the ego.

Work on the most important things first.

Acknowledge your progress. Be aware of what's slowing you down.

Recognize that there may be more than one way to accomplish something. Be open.

Enough planning and talk. Start moving. Then adjust.

What should your team focus on that no other team can?

In a recent blog post I stated that the number 1 reason why senior leadership teams aren't more strategically focused is....

"There isn't enough time."

And, you'll know your team isn't strategically focused if you spend the majority of your time doing what I call the "Round Robin" - where you go around the conference room table and everyone gives an update about their area that almost no one else cares about.

As heard in one of my team coaching sessions last week from a participant...

"If two people agree, you don't need one of the opinions."

The number one reason why senior leadership teams don't focus on more strategic things is.....

"There isn't enough time."

This came up this week, and that came up last week. Yada yada yada.

No wonder why senior leadership teams struggle so much to do little more than information sharing.

Have you ever wondered what is motivating to your people?

It's important to know, because as leaders, we need to tailor everything we do based on our team members' preferences and priorities.

I was in a team building workshop last week, and one of my participants asked, "...but how do we know what motivates our team members?"

I simply replied, "Just ask."

Here are some questions you might ask your team members and co-workers to better understand their needs and aspirations.

1. What two or three aspects of your work do you enjoy most?

Are you tired of showing up at meetings and not knowing why you are there to begin with?

That seems to be the norm in most organizations.

The problem is that when there isn't a clear purpose and agenda for a meeting, people waste time and  energy endlessly talking around each other - never closing on decisions and moving actions forward.

Do you know what the Number 1 excuse is for not having an agenda?

"We don't have enough time."

People are too busy, overwhelmed, and overloaded.

Healthy conflict. Dialogue. Debate. Too often teams avoid it.

Why?

Here are three reasons.