Is your team on the way up or on the way down?

It's clear that efficient and effective teams are crucial to success in today's world.

None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful – Mother Teresa

It's true that individuals have massive impact, but teams really make the biggest difference to results.

The challenge as leaders is to know if your team is doing well or struggling.

Here's a handy checklist I share on our leadership programmes to help decide how well your team is doing...

Teams on the way down:

• People shield those in power from unpleasant facts, fearful of penalties and criticism for shining light on the rough realities
• People assert strong opinions without providing data, evidence, or a solid argument
• The team leader has a very low questions-to-statements ratio, avoiding critical input and/or allowing sloppy reasoning and unsupported opinions
• Team members acquiesce to a decision but don't unify to make the decision successful—or worse, undermine it after the fact
• Team members seek as much credit as possible for themselves, yet do not enjoy the confidence and admiration of their peers
• Team members argue to look smart or to further their own interests rather than argue to find the best answers to support the overall cause
• The team conducts "autopsies with blame," seeking culprits rather than wisdom
• Team members often fail to deliver exceptional results and blame other people or outside factors for setbacks, mistakes, and failures

Team on the way up...

• People bring forth the brutal facts—"Come here and look at this, this is not good"—to be discussed; leaders never criticise those who bring forth harsh realities
• People bring data, evidence, logic, and solid arguments to the discussion
• The team leader employs a Socratic style, using a high questions-to-statements ratio, challenging people, and pushing for penetrating insights
• Team members unify behind a decision once made, then work to make the decision succeed, even if they vigorously disagreed with it
• Each team member credits other people for success, yet enjoys the confidence and admiration of his or her peers
• Team members argue and debate, not to improve their personal position but to find the best answers to support the overall cause
• The team conducts "autopsies without blame," mining wisdom from painful experiences
• Each team member delivers exceptional results, yet in the event of a setback each accepts full responsibility and learns from mistakes

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much – Helen Keller

Is your team on the way up or way down?

Love to get your thoughts in the comments, and if you think it will help others in your network, please share !

Every success

Graham

About the author

Graham is on a mission to change the way organisations are being led. His sole purpose is to awaken possibility in leaders to deliver extraordinary results. Called a Leadership Wizard by his clients, he is the founder of the award winning Successfactory, author of Leadership Laid Bare! and The New Leadership Manifesto. He is trusted by many of the best leaders and organisations around the world to develop their leaders.

You can contact Graham at [email protected]

If you are intrigued and want to learn more then register interest in the Leadership Athlete Masterclass here and I'll give you a free electronic copy of The New Leadership Manifesto (￡12.99 on Amazon) Our next 2 day workshop in June is filling up fast!

www.thesuccessfactory.co.uk and www.grahamwilson.com

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