It's more than a team - Team First

For those that are new, this is a series of articles that look at what makes up high performing teams and how can businesses outperform the competition. All this came about from my conversations with the High-Performance Manager at St Kilda FC, Matt Hornsby.

Continuing on, we want to look at what kind of impact having a TEAM FIRST has on high performance. 

Every team will always put their hand up if you ask them if they work well as a team.

But often there are built-in norms of operation where people have blind spots. It’s only on a deeper investigation that some counterproductive behaviours emerge.

Focus on the win, not the stat-line

I’ve seen organisations which espouse team values but actually the individuals making up those teams are each looking out for their own gratification, all while thinking that they are acting with a team-first behaviour.  

As an easy example of what I mean: I coach 16-year-old boys basketball and we try to run team-first principles. It doesn’t mean they can’t use their individual talent. It’s more about encouraging them to make the right decision that achieves our team goal. It is about getting the win as a team, not the individual stat-line.

However, if your team was being coached to win at all costs, different decisions would occur compared with a team that has a primary objective to focus on developing players.

Keeping egos in check

This is where the strong linkage is with our previous High-Performance principle Same Page is so apparent. If you’re not on the Same Page there will be confusion about what each situation will demand on people as a team member.

Here’s where leadership is so important. Leaders are responsible for setting the standard. The leadership group will be accountable for creating and maintaining the standard that has been agreed to by the business team. 

Working in a Team First culture also means a lot of individual development. People need to be committed to the principle and prepared to do the work to overcome the temptation to put their ego first. They also need to have the right skills to play their role very well. 

This may require some team members to reevaluate the whole purpose of work and what motivates them. Is their mindset about how can I contribute best to my team that massages my ego? Or is it how can I contribute best to my team for the optimum impact for my team. 

Know your team and what outcomes you want

Looking again at my previous example: The win at all costs basketball team will act one way. They may ensure their best scorer gets most of the court time and ball access to increase their scoring probability. They will draw their motivation from sharing more wins together, despite reduced involvement for some players.

The player development focus team may be sharing more equal court time and ball access to ensure everyone gets a chance to get better. They may not get the number of wins but may feel more accomplished by seeing all players getting the opportunity to be better. 

Either way works, for that team. 

That’s where the leverage point from the Same Page concept is so important. If there are mixed messages from within a team as to where it is heading and why, it is highly unlikely to produce unified Team First behaviours, ever.

Now clear direction can be given from leadership and support offered to help team members grow and make the appropriate decisions that support your vision of Team First. It may not be that you want your team to finish first right now.  

Your strategy might be rather than buy in the talent needed to win that work now, it's more about let’s develop our people to win that work in 2 years time and then every year after that.  

Team First for me is about leaving the personal ego at the door. It’s about seeking gratification from contributing to the result and impact rather than personally getting the accolades. 

If that means you need to step up and take on more accountability, great do it. If it means coaching someone else or supporting them as they continue their growth, do that. 

This is where the leaders reinforce what will become the standard of your team. If it’s always the person at the end of the scoring chain who scores the goal who gets the recognition, that’s what everyone will strive to be. 

We all generally want to be a happy, contributing part of our team's success. But not everyone is capable of being the prime scorer or needs to be. Our players get recognition for the minor deflection of a ball in defense, not just the basket that results from it at the other end. Without everyone’s contribution, the team would not be in the position to score successfully.

It’s about doing your role well, exceptionally well if you’re pushing toward High Performance…All of the time. And if one person can’t do it for strategic or practical reasons, the next person in your team steps up! 

How does your team rate against this quick checklist?

1. Does your team outperform the competition? 
2. Is its focus primarily as a group of individuals, or a cohesive unit? 
3. What’s the pervading team mindset toward success in your team, win at any cost or create a sustainable performance environment? 
4. Are all team members recognised for their contributions and understand how their contributions fit into the overall business outcomes? 
5. Does your team celebrate as a team for team success?  

What do we need to stop, start and do more of to nurture the ability to get and keep our team working with a Team First principle?

Let me know in the comments below and happy to have a chat if you need help facilitating this conversation with your team.

Go Team!