Teams That Perform Part I
When a team does not perform, it is usually the coach that is held accountable. What do successful coaches do to drive to successful team performance? What are the factors that distinguish teams that perform well from those that don’t?
As a leadership consultant, I have found that balancing the four variables of time, energy, people, and communication well is often the key to successful team performance.
1) Time – We all get 168 hours a week. That's it. How a leader chooses to invest that time and with whom often spells the difference between mediocrity and success. Understanding the importance of where their time goes is the first variable that a leader must pay attention to. For the team, nothing replaces meaningful, uninterrupted 1:1 time with the leader. You spend time with them, and they will spend time for you. New leaders often make the mistake of getting sucked into the transactional spin cycle versus strategic re-purposing of time on their calendars to lead. Invest time in the team and you will reap the rewards as a team.
2) Energy - In addition to managing time, the leader must be aware of their own personal energy clock in order to show up at their best. We are not all wired the same way. I have a friend who we affectionately refer to as the Energizer Bunny. We are not all Energizer Bunnies. Fundamental to leadership is understanding when our energy reserves are at their highest and applying those reserves appropriately to the situation at hand. Don't make the mistake of showing up depleted to something that requires energy.
3) People - Relationships are the conduit by which we do business and trust is the currency. As we are working with and through people, trusting relationships are instruments of exchange, and like currency exchanges, the ‘exchange rate’ can fluctuate. Trust may be defined as the level of confidence a person has in the leader’s future actions. Remember, nothing replaces meaningful uninterrupted 1:1 time with the leader to build trusting relationships within your team. Give your team the tools to do their job, set realistic expectations, trust them to do their jobs, and then get out of their way.
4) Communication - It has been said that communication is the cause of and solution to all managerial issues. When communication flows freely and with integrity good things tend to happen. This includes times when the leader must deliver challenging feedback. Many times leaders will refrain from delivering needed course corrections which can result in continued poor performance. A good way to learn how to communicate well includes thinking about ourselves less and thinking about others more. This builds transparency. Courage plus transparency equals genuineness -- a key ingredient of success.
Many times leaders will develop a sort of managerial writer’s block. It can be frustrating not to know
intuitively the best way to handle certain individuals or situations. When this happens try the opposite of your initial “go to” response. If you are the sort of leader that has concerns or anxiety about how to deal with a particular person try doing the opposite -- if you tend to become reactive, pause before you say anything, count to 10, breathe deeply before jumping into a response; if you tend to clam up, continue or initiate the conversation by asking generous questions instead; if you tend to over analyze, pull back and focus on exactly what was said, taking it at face value; If you tend to run over people, stop and listen fully before crafting your response.
Please check out this three-minute video of school kids who are playing the opposite game and observe how quickly they all get on the same page, display integrity, mutual accountability, and have some fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMy03idoE6E
For additional leadership content from Lee Hubert, click here!
Lee Hubert is a Speaker, Facilitator, Trainer and founder of iTrainManagerforSuccess affiliate of Voltage Leadership, with over 20 years of experience in human resources development in healthcare, technology, financial and energy sectors.
