Three Important Traits for Creating a Vibrant Team in Uneven Times
Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash
Team Culture Turned Upside Down
I love sports of all kinds. But I especially enjoy team sports. All sports require a degree of strategy and execution, but team sports also require a high degree of coordination and collaboration. Of course, I have my favorite teams, and I love to see them win. But I am also fascinated with how a team develops throughout a season. Barring injury, do they get better? Are individual egos submitted to team success? How do they respond to losing and other adversities? How do they represent themselves and their teammates in the media? The answers to these questions are observable and often help determine a team's success.
In collegiate sports, we have two new realities that greatly benefit individuals but may pose a significant barrier to creating a team and healthy team culture. First, name, image, and likeness (NIL) potentially provide a substantial financial reward for individual players, especially those with high profiles. And I think this is fair. But it has already created a sense of "pay for play." Student-athletes have committed to certain schools or transferred away from certain schools for higher NIL endorsements. The uneven nature of NIL can undoubtedly be a threat to team chemistry and unity.
The other new reality of collegiate sports is the transfer portal. This option allows a student to freely transfer to another school from one season to the next. A student-athlete would utilize this benefit to go to a team where they would receive more playing time. Again, this is understandable, and I think it is fair in most cases. Certainly, coaches choose to do this at the drop of a hat. But this, too, can disrupt team cohesion and chemistry. Both realities can cause a certain amount of team tension and a sense of social privilege. The premium trait for the head coach of the future may have little to do with X's and O's and much more to do with the ability to create a team, build a team, sustain a team, and maintain a strong team culture.
There are parallels to the organizational workforce. Covid proved to be a significant disruptor to not only the flow of commerce but to the inner office workings of commerce. The great resignation has proven to contain a measure of reality. Baby boomers have decided to retire at an earlier age than expected. But the more significant shift has been dubbed the great restructuring. This also has two realities. One aspect is the hybrid workforce which has varying formulas. Some teams work entirely in a virtual format. One of the most popular emerging approaches is the three-two formula. Three days are spent in the office, and two days are allowed for virtual work from any location. It seems unlikely to see a mass return five days a week in the office. A second aspect is worker demand. This causes a corporate version of the transfer portal. Workers are moving between companies for better pay and work culture. These realities also make it challenging to create, build, and sustain a sense of a real team. Creating and maintaining a vibrant organizational culture will prove more difficult too.
MacMillan's Six Characteristics of a High-Performance Team
A team is a group of people committed to a common purpose who choose to cooperate in order to achieve exceptional results. [1]
A framework I often use for developing effective teams is Pat MacMillan's High-Performance model. MacMillan's research revealed six characteristics of every high-performance team:
1. Clear, Common Purpose
2. Crystal Clear Roles
3. Accepted Leadership
4. Effective Team Processes
5. Solid Relationships
6. Excellent Communication
In the current shifting organizational landscape, I propose three are at a premium when attempting to create, build, and sustain a sense of team—and maintain a healthy organizational culture. While all six traits are essential for teams to function at their highest level, three are critical in navigating this season of upheaval and change.
Three Traits Above the Rest
1. Clear, Common Purpose
A true high-performance team is purpose centered. Purpose always revolves around answering the question, "Why?" Why does this team exist? What task is it trying to accomplish? Teams are not meant to be an end to themselves. There must be ownership and alignment around the stated purpose or task for teams to function well—whether co-located, virtual, or hybrid. People want to know how their contribution and the team's contribution contribute to the organization's overall purpose. The team purpose should be codified and written down for all to reference and see. The purpose statement must be clear (I can see it), it must be relevant (I want it), and it must be significant (it's worth it). If these elements are present, there is a greater chance that a team is well-positioned to make a significant contribution and see results. It is also better positioned to be adaptable, flexible, and responsive. Simply put, the team knows why it exists and what they are shooting for. There must be a clear, shared purpose to create a team with staying power that collaborates well.
2. Solid Relationships
According to MacMillan, good team relationships are built upon trust, understanding, acceptance, respect, courtesy, and mutual accountability. These elements take proximity and time. Meetings that exist only over Zoom can only take you so far. Trust is extended based on another person's character and competence. Understanding requires knowing what another team member can and cannot do—their contributions of expertise and their limits. Acceptance is critical for building bridges to connect differences. Respect is the choice to show honor and esteem for another's contribution (and realize it does not threaten your good contribution). Courtesy is simply a function of how well team members treat each other. And mutual accountability is the healthy posture of each team member being answerable to the other team members for follow-through and results.
The only way to develop these traits is through shared time and experience. I am watching more teams prioritize periodic retreats to build solid relationships. There may be a rhythm of going on retreat once a year or gathering several times a year. They need to focus more on team relationships than strategic problem-solving. This could be a time to discuss team norms, go over a common assessment like Clifton Strengths, or hear people's stories to create common ground. Doing something fun should be another important element of the time together. Even shared time around the dining room table over a meal will help accentuate solid relationships.
3. Excellent Communication
Communication is the currency of leadership. Having strong team communication is essential for cooperation toward the mission. Communication involves both sending and receiving. The one initiating communication must be clear and speak in a way the receiver can understand. Communication is only as good as what is truly received and understood. Teams must avoid groupthink. There needs to be a robust and honest exchange over high-priority items that move the team toward their common purpose. Teams should expect conflict. Aiming for anything that matters will always bring a level of tension. But healthy conflict and conflict resolution practices can allow teams to reach new heights of cooperation and collaboration. Teams need to assess the quality of their communication regularly. Good communication always trickles down from solid relationships. The team leader must communicate often and in person. Choose your mode of communication wisely. Email is a terrible carrier of emotional language or tough decisions. Zoom is suitable to a degree for check-ins and problem-solving (cameras always on and never more than one screen of participants) but is still challenging for building relationships. Over-communication is better than too little. The team leader will serve themselves (and their teams) well by leading with good questions more than answers. Especially in this new hybrid team world, excellent communication is required.
All six of MacMillan's high-performance team characteristics matter. But the strong investment in these three will reap real benefits for the organization navigating workforce change. Vocāre Leadership has proven development tools to help you build team. Schedule a consultation today to discuss your setting and needs.
[1] The Performance Factor, Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork, Pat MacMillan, B&H Publishing, 2001.
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