Greatness is grown

tldr;  It has been suggested that I type… a lot.  To that end – if you find that reading the whole article is untenable – I’m adding in a “Typed Long, Didn’t Read” section to surface the main points of the writing.  Hope you find this useful too.

Leaders create great teams by creating an environment where teams can be great.  They do this by setting the vision and the tone, and providing the resources necessary for the team to achieve their goals.

People:

• do their best when they feel safe to contribute, ask questions, and offer new ideas.

• who feel like their work contributes to a larger goal will more often work creatively, think out of the box, and go out of their way to help their teammates.

• who feel challenged to experiment and learn new things will come up with creative ways to create value and solve problems. 

• will behave how you reward them to behave.  If you recognize them for doing tasks, they will focus on tasks.  if you recognize them for getting results or solving problems, they will do that.

It’s important for leaders of all kinds to ask themselves questions every day– “Am I acting in a way that creates an environment where my teams can be great?”

I work with the best people.  Be it on the squads and crews that I support, or the partners I work with to help instill a culture of agility, every single person I work with wants to do a great job.  To contribute.  To succeed.  I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t want our team, our company, each other, to be successful at what needs to be done.  So how do we take advantage of a team of people who want to succeed?  

Leaders don’t make teams great…

As a coach, I get asked “how do I make my teams great?”  My answer is pretty simple.

You don’t.

Leaders aren’t responsible for making teams great – they are responsible for creating the conditions in which a team CAN be great.  Leaders craft the vision, set the tone, create the environment, and provide the resources. 

Teams are responsible for taking those resources (be it time, tools, or materials) and turning them into something valuable that delights customers (or users) and achieves the company’s goals.  

This, of course leads to the question, “How do leaders create an environment where teams and people can be great?”

Cultivate a supportive, psychologically safe environment 

Doing great things takes courage.  People perform at their best when they feel safe enough to take risks and voice ideas without fear of judgement.  Teams innovate when there are “no dumb ideas” or when they feel secure enough to experiment, fail fast, learn, and try again. Team members should at all times be showing acts of leadership, by default. 

Are you wondering how that looks like, at the ground level?  Ask yourself:

• When was the last time my team tried something that didn’t work?

• How frequently does the team have uncomfortable conversations?

• When was the last time a team member volunteered to try something they weren’t experienced at doing?

• What is preventing the people who don’t speak up from feeling safe enough to contribute?

Answers to these questions can give a leader clues as to how safe and secure their people feel, and are a “tell’ as to how successful a team will be in the long run.

Inspire and clarify vision

People who understand the “why” behind their efforts are more likely to be creative when looking for solutions to problems.  Team members who know how their contributions fit into a meaningful vision will often go out of their way to help their team members or partners.  Team members who feel like they are just “checking the box” with their work, will do just that – check the box.

Searching for clues about how aligned your team is?  Ask yourself…

• Does the team showcase tasks they are completing, or results they are achieving?

• When was the last time the team talked about their objectives, and how they are progressing against them?

• When we plan new work, do we prioritize based on contribution to business results?

• How many of my team members have personal goals and objectives that are aligned with their squad’s/team’s/crew’s objectives?

People who are aligned toward the same goals, and incented to achieve them together are more likely to achieve them.  If you have answers to these questions you aren’t happy with, you may consider some adjustments!

Empower and develop

People will rise to their level of expectation.  Team members who feel empowered and have opportunities for growth create great things.  Challenging team members to grow, and encouraging a culture where team members feel empowered can unlock the greatness within a team.  

Investing not only in new skills, but also in a curious, customer-focused, outcome-driven mindset is the best way to prepare for future challenges and opportunities.  Is your team feeling empowered and able to develop into the best version of themselves?  

The answer to these questions can give you some clues.

• How often does the team talk about the new things they are learning or trying?

• Does the team ask for permission to do things, or do they ask what impediments/risks they may be facing as they implement their ideas?

• When I look at the teams expectations, is it more “projects to complete,”  “problems to solve,” or “outcomes to achieve?”

Delegating is more than just assigning tasks to complete.  If done right, it’s a way you’ll have an empowered, self-improving, innovative team that not only achieves, but also thrives.

Provide effective feedback and recognition

Feedback and recognition are important ways to help point teams in the right direction.  Be sure to provide feedback and recognition that incents the behaviors that help a team to be great.  If you reward people for “getting work done,” well that is what they will do… get done whatever is coming across their plate. If you reward people for “solving problems” or contributing to company results… well, I think you get the picture here.

• How often am I meeting individually with my team members to give (and get) feedback?

• How can we elevate and celebrate the new things that team members learn on a regular basis?

• When was the last time I congratulated the team for trying something different, regardless of how it worked out?

Recognizing when someone takes a (smart) risk, is innovative, or learns something new not only tells that person (and their peers) that learning is valued, can lead to a team that gets great results over and over again.

People really do want to be great.  I truly believe that.  It falls upon leaders of all stripes to create an environment where that greatness can grow and shine through. What matters is how we show up every single day.  Are you showing up in a way that challenges your teams to rise to the occasion and be great?  Ask yourself some questions and see what you could do to improve – your teams might just be even greater than you think!  What’s stopping you?