Have you ever noticed the differences that people bring into the workplace? 

Different communication styles, preferences and priorities. Different goals, agendas, and ambitions. Different backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking. These differences represent latent potential. They represent opportunity, innovation, and outside-the-box thinking. These differences bring perspective. 

Our destination was the summit of the Grand Teton in Teton National Park, WY. At 13,775 feet above sea level, we'd have a 5,000 foot hike over 7 miles and then 2,200 feet of technical rock.

We took a day to hike in. Then we got an alpine start on the Petzoldt Ridge, an exposed 800 foot rock route leading to a more moderate 1,200 feet  on the Upper Exum Ridge. Almost 14 hours later we were back at our camp.

The most effective teams have a consistent focus on both structure and relationships. They know that being strong in both areas is critical to maximizing their potential. 

By structure I mean that the right components are in place - I call these the cultural building blocks of a team - that enable team success. For example, purpose is clear, communication strategy supports the team's purpose, and norms drive a common and collective way of working together.

In my work with Senior Leadership Teams, I've noticed that teams respond to their environment in a natural way. Sometimes their responses produce effective, long-term results. Other times, their responses are short-term and reactive.

Compare the following.

Problem-reacting Stance

Is your team functioning at its highest level of potential?

Here are 8 questions to help you decide:

The first challenge that new teams often face is a lack of alignment. Usually happens when goals aren’t clear and common, and when there is ambiguity of roles and responsibilities. As a result team members quickly get siloed in their own agendas and egos instead of being focused on overall team results.

In Part 1 of this post I mentioned that collaboration trumps time management...every time. In others words, if you want to do things faster and better, instead of looking toward time management techniques to make 5% or 10% improvements, figure out how to work more effectively with others - on your team, across departments, and within the broader organization. For collaboration to work, relationships must be focused on open communication. How do you create open communication?

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Solving problems others should solve.

It’s not uncommon for new leaders to solve problems for their team members instead of helping them learn to do it on their own. For the overly controlling leader, you may find it faster to take care of it yourself than to take the time to teach.

For the less assertive leader, it might be easier to do it yourself so you can get around confronting an issue directly.

Below is an excerpt from our latest article 3 Ways to Derail Team Formation.

Most teams struggle to reach their highest levels of effectiveness because of their inability to cultivate the right team of people from the beginning. As a result, communication breakdowns, unnecessary conflict, and poor decision making leads to a loss of key opportunities.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

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.