Improve your Team's Effectiveness with this Simple Exercise

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• published: 29 Apr 2016
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I don't remember the precise date, I'm sure there was one. But I do remember the shift. The moment when I realized that my effort alone could never be enough. I know I didn't learn this in school, when we had team projects, we survived because the stronger individuals stepped in to get the project done. Time after time, heavy lifting by individuals to get the team across the line. I realized it much later and after I did, I became mindful of the importance of proactively investing in building high performance teams. Sometimes advice in this area sounds so cliché to me like "Eat less, exercise more" which is the best advice out there for shedding excess pounds but somehow so difficult to do. This tip is a little bit like that: "Make time for your team to get to know each other and it will instantly improve their effectiveness." I work with many leaders that are frustrated with the dynamics in their teams. The hardest part is that they can't put their finger on what is causing it, it just feels suboptimal. Maybe it isn't even a problem as such. Perhaps it is just a sense that more is possible. That if the elephant could just leave the room this team would really thrive. This instinct is almost always right. As leaders we can ignore that instinct and abandon the call for greatness from this group of individuals. We can under invest our time and energy into the possibility of amazing teamwork and all the benefits that it could yield. We could also rationalize that it is not important for people to like each other, as long as they respect each other and of course follow the company's code of conduct. Or: We can act on it! With this very simple, easy and free tactic. So before I share one of my super simple, easy and free tactics, I want to warn you about the powerful force that can hold you back from using it. Let's call these visitors to the debate Mr. "if only" and Mr. "why me"? Mr. "If Only" will say, "they should just get along". "I shouldn't have to intervene." Mr. "Why Me" will say: "I shouldn't have to do this". "I should put a committee on it". In the time that you hear these thoughts, you could have planned and prepped for the activity. It's that easy. Here's the reason this exercise is so efficient and effective. People don't actually need to know that much about each other to work amazingly together. In fact we waste way too much time getting to know each others' chronological history when what we really need to design, is our possibilities for our future. To do this, team members just need to know each others values and what motivates them. That's the information that will engage them in creating a thriving environment for each other in their future. And here's the trick, our values are in our stories so if we listen for them, we become conscious of the recipe for our best teaming future. So here’s the steps that will instantly improve your team's effectiveness: Step 1: Gather the team and ask everyone to remember the best team they ever worked with. In any context work, school, play etc... Step 2: Ask each member to take turns sharing the team that came to mind and what was it that made it so great to be apart of it. Step 3: Ask for a volunteer to capture on a whiteboard or flip chart the values that they hear as each individual describes in their experience. (Examples may include: Trust, Respect, Engagement, Dedication, Helpfulness, Creativity) Step 4: Continue with each individual's story and keep adding to the list of values (you can add stars to the ones that repeat to further reinforce its' importance) Step 5: Consolidate the list, call it "Our Collective Team Values", have everyone take a copy and pin it up in their workspace. Notice the change in the dynamic: You will see an instantaneous shift after people have both gotten to know each other and shared the ingredients to a thriving team environment. Just like: "Eat less, exercise more" the best advice out there for shedding those excess pounds. :) Have a watch to see this video tip! If you know someone that might benefit from this tip please like or share. To receive my weekly tips directly to your inbox check out my website: www.marisamurray.com Marisa Murray, Professional Engineer / M.B.A. is an Executive Coach & Corporate Speaker with over 20 years’ experience delivering large scale enterprise transformations in which she gained superior leadership and change management skills. Since founding her coaching company MarisaMurray.com, along with her Youtube channel - offering self-coaching tips, Marisa has established herself as a go-to expert for technical leaders. Her work includes one-on-one coaching, customized professional development workshops and team coaching that supports her clients in expanding the breadth of their leadership capabilities and improve resonance with their enterprise leadership team. Follow her on Twitter @murraymarisa