Many of us start the year with a plan to improve our individual health and wellbeing. But are we investing enough in the health of our teams?
2023 was a challenging year with many organisations needing to cut costs, make tough decisions, and get to grips with new ways of working, like automation and AI. The new year presents an opportunity to focus on the dynamics within your teams to ensure everyone is engaged, focused on meaningful goals and collaborating effectively.
As 2024 is an Olympic year, we’ve asked our expert advisors from the world of high-performance sport to share their insights on what’s needed to achieve excellent team performance.
Action 1: Clarify and commit to a shared purpose
Is your organisation’s purpose clear to everyone?
Dr Campbell Thompson is the lead psychologist for Athletics New Zealand, supporting their best-ever performance at the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games. Campbell coaches leaders on using organisational purpose as a point of differentiation, and on the power of linking personal purpose to organisational strategy to unlock intrinsic motivation.
Organisations and teams with a clear, shared purpose regularly report enhanced performance, job satisfaction and retention. But it’s not easy. 82% of leaders think their teams are aligned with their strategy. When tested with employees alignment drops to 23%¹ – a stark demonstration of the ‘optimism bubble’ that increases with seniority². Taking time to really focus on aligning individual and organisational goals should be a primary aim for everyone.
So, what can you do?
- Campbell recommends that you reflect on ‘why you come to work each day’ and you create a ‘to be’ not just a ‘to do’ list to articulate values that matter to you
- Talk to your team about what drives them and how it links to your team’s goals, get them to capture goals that are personal and meaningful
- Think about using ‘pre-mortems’ when forming a new team or starting a project – this enables you to agree in advance objectives and strategies to address team challenges
For more ideas check out our ‘Creating Purpose Led Cultures’³ article.
Action 2: Create space for honest conflict and communication
Does the way your team work enable all voices to be heard or does it hide quieter, dissenting or more junior voices?
Olympic Double Gold medallist Alex Gregory MBE is one of the most consistently successful team rowers in the sport’s history. His experience is that “without communication you won’t reach your potential to achieve. Whilst preparing for the 2012 Olympics, our Olympic rowing team were talking at each other, not as a collective. As a result, issues and tension points were avoided – literally slowing the boat down.”
Communication requires effort and a deep consideration of the power balances at play in any group environment². High performing teams create psychologically safe environments so that points of disagreement can be raised, dealt with and used to improve⁴. Alex’s Olympic squad agreed the ‘when in lycra’ rule. Simply, when they were in their kit and focused on performance, however small, all issues could be raised openly and addressed.
So, what can you do?
- Explore the conversations your team would like to have but don’t. Tools like Lencioni’s Five dysfunctions of a team⁵ provide a model for teams to reflect on the trust and constructive conflict needed to achieve results
- Role-model open communication by being aware of how you respond when you are personally challenged, and openly inviting the opinions of others
- Introduce team habits to create space for constructive conflict – a ‘devil’s advocate’ card for individuals to hold in meetings, a weekly ‘amnesty’ where all issues can be raised, reverse mentoring to build openness, or asking more junior team members to chair meetings
Over time these ways of working become embedded in your daily rituals and routines, rather than having to be consciously done. Check out more suggestions in our recent article on embracing innovation, inclusion and speaking up.
Action 3: Build awareness of strengths and differences
Does everyone know the strengths and cultural differences they bring into the team?
Nick Baker is the head coach of the British Paralympic rowing team and was part of the most successful Paralympic squad ever at Rio 2016. Key to their success has been creating a safe space for the team to get to know their own and each other’s individual strengths. Developing an in-depth shared understanding of strengths and development areas fast-tracks team trust, mutual appreciation and a platform for debate and challenge⁶.
All our Olympic athletes and coaches know that true high performance is delivered and sustained when everyone knows their strengths and consistently delivers this.
So, what can you do?
- Nick recommends creating time for socialising and having fun together outside of work to build social connections, increase awareness of strengths and enhance overall engagement
- Use psychometrics and team dynamic interventions to deepen individual and group awareness of working preferences and cultural differences
- Share personal development objectives so team members can support each other and act as ‘in the moment’ mentors
Action 4: Be purposeful about the ‘shadow’ your team creates
Do you know the shadow you and your team cast on other parts of the organisation?
We’ve all seen Olympic successes leading to more successes. The ability to excel relies not only on how team members work together, but how well they collaborate with and influence other teams across your organisation. Your team’s ‘shadow’ will dictate how your direct reports and wider stakeholders work with you.
Actively thinking about the impact you want to create gives you the chance to create a ‘ripple’ effect across the business⁷. Whether that’s being known for openness to new ideas, respected for your areas of expertise, or trusted as a partner for collaborating.
So, what can you do?
- Ask others about how they perceive and experience your team, either directly or using tools like 360 feedback
- Agree as a team the impact you would like to have on others – discuss the feedback you receive and use it to actively challenge and align on shifts you want to make
- Be clear on the behaviours that you need to demonstrate and role model as a team, and hold each other to account on living these behaviours
In summary, you need to adopt team habits that will deliver success
Does your team have the right habits to support effective communication, clarity of purpose, playing to your strengths, and having the desired impact on others?
Regardless of which focus area stands out most for you, spending time as a team to identify collective habits and create shared commitments will be worth the investment – it will allow you to ‘go for gold!’
Want to get the year off to a great start? Whether it’s a ‘Fit for 2024’ workshop, a session to align everyone on your strategy, or a session on effective team dynamics, our highly experienced facilitators, including Alex, Campbell and Nick, can help! Contact Natalie Wharton or Sarah Jepson Jones to find out more!
WhartonBC is a challenger consultancy focused on maximising performance through the potential of your people. If you are interested in to read more about how we have inspired high performing teams with Olympian Alex Gregory, check out our testimonial.
References:
1 – Is your company as strategically aligned as you think it is? Harvard Business Review, 2023
2 – ‘Speak Up: say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard’ M.Reitz and J.Higgins 2012
3 – 8 top tips to create a purpose based culture, Wharton Business Consulting
4 – The Fearless Organization: creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth, Amy C Edmondson
5 – The five dysfunctions of a team, Patrick Lencioni 2002
6 – The powerful duo of strengths and engagement, Gallup 2023
7 – How to Improve Your Team’s Reputation in Your Organization, FranklinCovey
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