Maximizing Team Effectiveness

To maximize the power of teams, it is essential to establish trust and accountability. One way to ensure that teams get off to a strong start is to understand the aim of the group and to get agreement on and commitment to a productive path forward. As a constant reminder, stating the primary goals of the group at the top of every meeting agenda can help. And it’s equally important to keep in mind “the rule of natural consequences.”

Teams are brought together for various reasons and are populated in accordance with the primary objective of the group. However, without proper preparation and training, things can (and often do) go sideways quickly. As team members consider new initiatives, corrective action, and process improvements, opinions can vary greatly. To an experienced facilitator, this is viewed as “raw material” needed to get to a productive outcome. To those new to the role of team leader, this can be seen as an unproductive conflict borne of self-interest or worse. Here are a couple of ideas that can help.

First, consider these three ways to approach decision making in a group setting. There’s what we know (this is fact based), what we think we know (mostly deductive reasoning based on probability and prior experiences) and how we feel (our emotional response to challenges and opportunities). While these three mental states overlap, it is useful to compartmentalize these and to understand how they drive our approach to making decisions. For team leaders, identifying these three factors, discussing, and defining them in advance can help even ad hoc groups reach common ground more quickly and with less strife. Framing the discussion in these three stages keeps team members focused and can lead to a deeper understanding of how and when we may confuse facts, with assumptions (based on experience) and emotions (which often drive decision making whether we are aware of it or not).

Then there’s the rule of natural consequences. This simple approach encourages the group to articulate an option and then consider how it is most likely to affect and impact other stakeholders. When done properly, this can sideline judgement and opinion and focus on what, based on the collective wisdom and experiences of team members, is most likely to take place given a particular course of action. Rather than categorize an option as good or bad, better or worse, focus on the likely, natural, predictable outcome of each option. This can help move members from judging (and criticizing) options to objectively evaluating them.

As with any skill, effective team leadership requires training, practice, and patience.

For more information on ways to maximize the effectiveness of teams in your organization, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com.