Is your leadership team leading?
Is your top executive management team a cohesive group of people who share a commitment to the whole mission, who together say "we've got this covered and we're working on the next big thing"?
Most executive directors and members of these teams will smile and say, "sometimes" or "it used to be that way" or "no (period)".
Maybe the better question is: Do you believe that a high functioning team can make a difference in your success?
When you say "yes" to that you have found your next big thing to dramatically change the way your organization functions. Doing something about it is an intentional strategic decision.
I am pleased to offer team development services utilizing the best program created in years - The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. Based on the model described by Patrick Lencioni in the internationally best-selling books The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage, the program has a simple goal: facilitate a learning experience that helps professionals discover what it takes to build a truly cohesive and effective team.
The pyramid shows the progressive nature of the five behaviors. Most of us want results from working teams, that's why we form them. But in reality the results we seek are built on other intentional choices. Here is how cohesive and effective teams behave:
- They trust each other. Trust happens when members are willing to be vulnerable, and then confidence grows that the intentions of peers on the team are good and there is no reason to be protective or careful around them.
- The engage in productive conflict around ideas. With the basis of trust, conflict simply becomes an attempt to find the best possible answer. Engaging in conflict puts critical topics on the table, extracts the best ideas from all members, and helps solve problems.
- They commit to decisions and plans of action. Commitment is clarity around decisions and the ability to move forward with complete buy-in from every member of the team, including those who initially disagreed with the idea for action.
- They hold one another accountable for delivering to complete those plans of action. Effective teams overcome the natural discomfort of confronting a peer when their behavior or inaction is interfering with a team plan. This is peer-to-peer, not top down.
- They focus on the achievement of collective results. Collective is much different than individual responsibilities, status, and goals, it answers the question "are we achieving the goals the team decided upon?"
The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team is a development program that begins with an assessment that tells you how the team rates itself on the five behaviors. Additionally, the assessment and the program that is created based on the assessment, is powered by Everything DiSC so the team members understand themselves and each other through DiSC profiles. A seven module program is customized for you to teach the team what it takes to build a truly cohesive and effective team.
If this is the next big advantage you're seeking for your organization, it's simple but not easy, will require work over time, and you'll find mission-related results and a more enjoyable place to work. Let's talk about the Five Behaviors program.
