Team Traction Requires Leadership Action

Did you ever have the opportunity to be on a sports team with a phenomenal record—or part of a performing arts group that consistently brought audience members to their feet? Can you recall a life celebration such as a wedding or milestone anniversary that was so perfect, you couldn’t imagine a more special day?

If you’ve ever had a chance to be part of or closely observed an amazing group producing results like these, you likely remember a few aspects of how the team functioned:

• Understanding and committing to a particular goal was fully shared by all involved—and every person was clear on their own role and the roles of others.
• No one took anything personally because they were out to achieve something bigger than themselves. There was no room for self interest in pursuit of the main goal.
• It was OK (and expected) to hold each other accountable for doing what was required.
• Responsibility for high-achieving performance results was passed down to others newly joining the team to maintain or exceed previous outcomes.
• Continuous stretching toward improvement was the norm.

An aligned team is one that exhibits these characteristics. Members of high-performing teams make every other aspect of increasing the effectiveness of an organization easier. It is a unique and wonderful sense of accomplishment when a team aligns and produces results consistent with this “coming together” and purposeful solidarity.

Members of an aligned team do not have to like or agree with each other, but they do have to respect and choose to work together. Established, enforced rules of engagement help a team to stay focused on their goal.

Organizations frequently want to know what the biggest challenge is to developing aligned and high-performing teams. A word of advice from Milestone Leadership is to start at the top: if the key leader of a team or project is not focused on and willing to be transparent and truly engaged, the intended effort will seldom produce the desired results.

Many leaders approach high performance like a puzzle, believing if they can get all the right players into the right seats at the right time, they will obtain the desired results. While important, these actions and elements alone are not enough. Leaders worth following are actively involved in guiding and supporting the process and ongoing work of the team. Complete buy in and demonstrated enthusiasm must be a consistent part of a leader’s observable actions to achieve maximum results. Whether they choose to accept it or not, leaders have wield a great amount of power and responsibility in making or breaking a high performance team. So, just leave the puzzles in the rec room for a rainy day; team traction requires leadership action.