For years, I attempted to learn what separated great teams from the not-so-good ones. All good teams have talented people, their goals are clear and they are well lead. But some teams transcend all the others. They are not simply good – they are great. So, what’s the difference? Here’s what we discovered: The invisible force behind all high performance teams is their sense of community.
This past weekend I spoke to a group of leaders about how to strengthen the teams in their organization. I chose today’s topic: Community. Although the concept of community is at the core of what creates a High Performance Team, it is also one of the twelve best practices to unlock organizational performance.
Think of a time you were all in. Perhaps it was on a sports team, or a cheerleading squad; maybe you were serving as a volunteer in your community; or maybe it was at work. Have you ever considered why you were so fired up? It was no accident.
Have you ever noticed how often the counter-intuitive strategy, or the contrarian view yields the best return? If you’ve not thought about this, maybe today’s post will help. One example is our attempt to grow a small company. Clearly, most leaders are trying to grow a large company – the bigger the better. But what would happen if you could grow a small one?
Each week, I respond to a question submitted by a reader. Today, the question is from a leader who understands the power of community within a team. The issue is how to make the concept of community a reality on a large and diverse team. The challenge is real and formidable.
I’ve been thinking and writing about teams a lot over the last few years. I’ve observed some great teams and many others who were struggling. The potential causes for underperformance are numerous. Recently I discovered a new one. Some teams struggle because the leader is not operating in a team paradigm.
For those of you on the team journey, what I’m about to describe will probably resonate to your core. For teams not yet committed to the pursuit of high performance, it will sound strange.
I want to lead a great team – don’t you? I want to work on big ideas that will have a big impact. I want to invest my leadership energy in people and projects that matter. I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way. So where do we begin? We have to start where we are – but thankfully we don’t have to stay there.
As I shared in my post, What is the Secret of Teams?, one of the things we’ve discovered over the years is that the best teams not only have talented people and the requisite skills, they possess a powerful third ingredient – we call it Community. It’s what separates the great teams from the good ones. It is the turbo-charger for great team performance.