“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln highlights how Lincoln managed to craft a team that saved a nation. Teamwork often takes individual performance to the next level, and this is especially true in leadership situations. No matter how large the group, two people or two hundred or two hundred million, humans are social creatures who accomplish more by working as a team. Strong leaders build teams by bringing diverse talents together in groups with shared goals and clearly defined expectations. There are many challenges, and leaders must be mindful of two in particular.
The first is working with “difficult people,” i.e. those who fail to perform or create tension, conflict and confusion that hinders team performance. Here a leader spends the time to understand that individual’s point of view and help them accept the norms of the team. Sometimes that doesn’t work, so a leader must find a way to work around that individual, ignore them, or remove them from the team.
A second challenge is fostering inclusiveness in diverse teams. The challenge of including everyone by dealing with individual differences is always present. In formal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, PerfectCoaches can implement inclusion behaviorally. Are team members practicing “allyship,” making a special effort to help disadvantaged group members? Are team members interacting with another person, not a stereotype based on that person’s background? Are staff using the “24x7 Suggestion Box” built into PerfectCoaches (asking “What If? in a journal entry) to suggest ways to improve inclusion? When the answers to those three questions is yes, the organization can say “We DO DEI.”
Talking to your coach. The bottom line is this. To turn groups into true teams, the leader must facilitate cooperation, trust, commitment, team spirit, and group identity. Once a day or throughout the day, work with your coach and ask yourself: Did you do any of those things with your group today? Yes or no? Your coach will ask questions to make you mindful of the cues and reinforcers that influence your ability to build teams. Answers are not expected, the questions are food for thought.
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