BLOG — Next Levels Coaching

Effective teams are intricately linked by a common purpose based on shared values and norms. They believe that they can succeed or fail together. The healthy teams have rules of engagement – explicit and implicit guidelines of how to work together and the kinds of conflicts they will or will not allow. Some agreements can be broad such as listen like you are wrong, assume positive intent, and be solution-focused. Other agreements can relate to specific activities like team meetings.

Here are some norms that can foster an excellent working relationship among teams in their meetings:

1. Encourage full participation. Sometimes when you go to a meeting, there is somebody who sits off to the side and never says anything. However, it is essential for everybody to be heard for buy-in to occur and for the greatest amount of ideas to be put on the table. What systems do you put into place to foster maximum contributions? For some ideas, you can check out my article, “5 ways to spark full team participation.”

2. Adopt the Devil’s Advocate Role. Some people invoke this term to have license to say something unpopular or distasteful, but a real devil’s advocate provides an excellent service. It gives people permission to challenge, disagree, and argue productively. It is an excellent practice to test your idea and make sure it is really solid. If your teammate is trying to tear it apart, poke holes, and undermine it, and you cannot adequately defend the idea, perhaps it is not ready yet for the mainstream. For this tactic to be effective, you need to have trust and psychological safety. You are more likely to give and receive challenges when there is an understanding that the goal of the tough inquires is to make your ideas even better, thereby benefiting the team.

3. Establish a “disagree and commit” culture. This idea comes from Tech Co-founder Scott McNealy's larger point - “Agree and commit, disagree and commit, or get out of the way.” Andy Grove, and most recently Jeff Bezos included this idea in his 2016 letter to shareholders. Bezos expected and demanded that teammates voice their disagreement. He also believed that no matter their point of view, once a decision has been made, everyone commits to its success. He writes, “Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit. Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting.” If you have two people battling to win the approval of their idea and one loses, that person could be so tied to their plan that they may not want to see the other person’s idea succeed. But real teammates know how to spar to make each other better and then offer their sincere support and robust commitment because there is a bigger picture and a larger vision at play. If you notice somebody not jumping on board, they may be elevating the individual over the group agenda.

4. Speak last as a leader. This advice was given to former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer by legendary Executive Coach Bill Taylor. He said that when you go first and blurt out your ideas, you rob other people with the ability to share their perspectives. While you may know the answer, it is vital to contribute last because you give the team the chance to partake in the process, synergize, and get there together, which is just as important as coming up with the right idea.

5. Elect the right people to lead the discussion. If the conversation is about marketing, it should be led by the marketing department. Most times, corporate politics can get in the way of the finest ideas prevailing, but the best managers put the person closest to the problem in charge of solving it because they have first-hand experience and unique insights. Innovation is not about only allowing important people with big titles to create, but driving forward excellent ideas regardless of where they originate.

6. Use the Six Thinking Hats Method. Edward De Bono designed a system for group discussion and individual decision making by the use of six colored hats, which represent a type of thinking.

The WHITE hat is logical and fact-based where you analyze data and past trends.
The YELLOW hat symbolizes optimism where you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.
The GREEN hat is creative and provocative where you offer possibilities and out-of-the-box alternatives to standard ideas.
The BLACK hat is judgment, the devil’s advocate role, or why something may not work. This hat is cautious and conservative and can be the most powerful but problematic if overused.
The RED hat signifies feelings, hunches, and intuition. When using this hat, you can express emotions and share fears, likes, loves, and dislikes.
The BLUE hat is used to manage the thinking process, it could be a meeting chair that directs the conversation and calls on certain hats when there is a lull or when contrast is required.

You can try on certain hats for a specific agenda item to yield a great variety of perspectives to form a more comprehensive picture.

7. Use the Double Pro/Con Method. This is great for when you are trying to foster fruitful discussion and see multiple perspectives. If you have a group of 10, you would divide them into two groups of five.

· Each group of five will spend some time depositing ideas into the collective pool and then choosing the best idea they want to present to the whole group of 10.

· They will then divide themselves - 2 people representing pro and three people representing con and will discuss for 10 minutes so multiple points are displayed.

· Then they will switch roles where the three people are now for the proposal, and the two people are against it. This would be enlightening for the second group of 5 people to watch because they can see the contrasting ideas and tease out the nuggets of wisdom.

· You can then invite the second group to go through the method so the first group can have the benefit of witnessing multiple sides to a proposal.

Great teams do not just organically happen. When you are intentional about adding some structure and universal agreements, creativity and excellence can surely abound.

Quote of the day: “In teamwork, silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly.” -Mark Sanborn

Q: What are some norms that you use which help your team perform at their best? Comment and share with us, we would love to hear from you!

*The next blog in this team series 6/10 will delve into 5 ways to spark full team participation.

As a Leadership Development & Executive Coach, I work with teams to set up universal agreements for peak performance . Contact me to learn more.

Which agreements allow your team to thrive?

In today’s driven society, it is not uncommon for companies to have teams filled with talented, ambitious, opinionated people with large egos who want to advance in their careers.

The temptation for people to stand out from the crowd for recognition, promotion, bonuses, and office size looms ever large. Internal competition creeps in and those company perks become ways to keep score. The word team, unfortunately, exists in name, but not in practice because it becomes a collection of rivals who want to pursue individual achievement over group success. If unchecked, these intergroup conflicts can have adverse rippling effects.

So, how do you encourage your members to act as a team? In short, form a community. Phil Jackson said, “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.” Do not just think about your team as a compilation of members who are working towards completing a job. Instead, see them as much more - a community that supports each other to be better than they think they can be as they march towards a common goal that they also personally care about. Teams that act as communities do not have to be best friends and spend all their time together, but they have to know how to integrate their interests and put aside differences.

The benefits of a community cannot be ignored. Those who feel like they are part of a supportive network at work are more engaged, more productive, and are less likely to experience burnout. The simple fact is that teams of people who subordinate individual agendas will always outperform teams that do not.

Here are some ways you can build community:

1. Understand your role as contributing to the greater good. Numerous examples can be found in sports. Shane Battier is known as a no-stats All-Star in basketball, he never scored a lot of points or got a lot of rebounds, but he made his teammates more effective and the opposing team less so. His team was more likely to win with him in the game and was part of two NBA championships. He knew exactly what his role was, which was not to be the best small forward in the league by merely chasing stats but to do whatever he had to do to be the best for his team, even if it was in a set-up role that did not allow him to accumulate impressive stats.

Similarly, in 2015, co-captain Abby Wambach, considered to be one of the most successful soccer players - 2x gold medalist and all-time top goal scorer of 184 - spent most of the World Cup on the bench. She was called upon as a substitute only in the late stages of some games. She shared how she did not let that discourage her, she always found ways to lead from the sidelines and champion her teammates because that is what was called for. To win a game, it requires a coordinated effort on and off the field and she always found ways to uniquely contribute wherever she was standing.

2. Share credit. This is a vital part of being on a team. Author A.J. Jacobs shared a story about Jonas Salk taking sole credit for coming up with a polio vaccine and when given a chance, did not acknowledge any of his collaborators and predecessors who helped along the way. Psychologists call this failure to recognize and thank collaboratives the responsibility or self-serving bias. It is a pitfall that we should all avoid since it causes a lot of pain and resentment among other people. So, how do you fight against the natural tendency of each member to exaggerate his/her contribution relative to the influence of other teammates? Choose to elevate and reward cooperation, as well as individual achievement. Encouraging teammates to help each other thrive should garner just as much, if not more recognition. When you consistently catch people doing great things like mentoring others or pitching in on teammates’ projects, that should be valued and rewarded. This gesture clearly communicates the emphasis your culture places on teamwork.

Author and Startup Investor Fran Hauser offers some easy strategies to share credit for team success and to provide appreciation. When you have a team win, you can do the following, depending on what you think the recipient would most enjoy:

· Send an email to that person’s boss and CC your coworker.

· Call out a coworker’s “good job” at a meeting - have the person stand up while everybody else claps.

· Take a colleague out to lunch to celebrate teaming up on a job well done.

· Treat a colleague to a small gift card at their favorite store for helping you.

· Send the person a morning text letting them know you got them a Starbucks coffee if you know they get a latte every morning.

· Write a handwritten note mentioning their specific contributions that made the team successful.

If a supervisor accidentally credits you with a good idea, you can interject to set the record straight by letting your boss know it was your coworker who came up with that idea. If somebody has told you an idea in private and you are passing it along in front of a crowd, be sure to mention the source and your information. When you spread the credit, you pass along the love, trust, and pride in the team

3. Contribute as a problem-solver. Being a part of a community involves having a collective mindset. Going to a meeting and pitching in on solving a problem, even if it does not relate to you directly because you are invested in the group’s outcome. It is also about taking ownership of the group’s success. When you complain, think about it as if you are griping against yourself so instead of spreading negativity, what are 1-2 possible solutions you can offer that goes along with your constructive critique?

While you may not get the chance to choose your colleagues, you can always take steps to improve the dynamic. Simple gestures about asking about people’s days, sending an email letting them know you appreciate their work, and genuinely listening to others can make all the difference in feeling like a community.

“Ego is the ultimate killer on a team,” said Management Guru Patrick Lencioni. One way to subdue the dominance of the ego is to encourage people to feel like they belong to a community where they enjoy numerous collective benefits when operating together more than they can ever experience individually.

Quote of the day: “Great things in business are never done by one person; they are done by a team of people.” — Steve Jobs

Question of the day: How do you like experiencing a sense of belonging? Comment and share with us, we would love to hear from you!

The next blog in this team series 4/10 will explore the importance of healthy conflict.

As a Leadership Development & Executive Coach, I work with teams to build community for peak performance. Contact me to learn more.

What can you build with a team-first mentality?