Column by Mario Mora for Diario Financiero
“Successful teams are adaptive and focus, at the same time, on the dynamics outside the group - the stakeholders and their expectations; and on the internal dynamics, stimulating the creation of trust.”
The key to strong performing organisations lies in their ability to embed within them teams capable of operating at high levels of effectiveness. Many believe that individual leadership, as a provider of direction, is over-weighted compared to the relevance of good teamwork. In this context, many companies that are today immersed in transformation processes into the digital world - a more complex journey than the companies and their leaders imagined, are appreciating more rigorously the impact of having fragile teams in their execution. In either situation, however, the key question is how to ensure that organizations can get the most out of their teams; and at the same time, do so without major interventions on organizational behavior. As it is, it would seem that the best way to attack this problem is to avoid some bad habits that clearly “torpedo” effectiveness and at the same time characterize poorly performing teams.
One of these bad habits is related to the inability of these teams to inspire and focus on raising and sharing a common, clear and convincing objective, which is fully aligned with the expectations of the different stakeholders within the company, and which allows them to remove from the agenda, each time, those obstacles that keep them away from the goal. To do this, they must stop focusing on themselves, keep their eyes on the end purpose and not forget the customer.
Poorly performing teams generally operate in an environment of unclear roles and responsibilities, and find a myriad of excuses when it comes to confronting less competent members of the group. Let alone tell the truth to senior management. Powerful teams, on the other hand, have passion, the flexibility to take on different roles within the group, the sportsmanship to get back on track and not lose heart, and a composition that is fit for purpose.
Successful teams are adaptable and focus, at the same time, on the dynamics outside the group - the stakeholders and their expectations - and on the internal dynamics, stimulating the creation of trust. Weak teams are characterized by doing all this half-heartedly, and also by allowing some members of the group to monopolize all the conversations, and push their own agendas.
Weak teams are very non-agile. They create subgroups, are inflexible, and show a lot of dependence on the status quo. Quick to highlight the negative and slow to learn from mistakes. Successful ones, on the other hand, do not complain; they are alert to unblock obstacles with enthusiasm, and ask for help and advice from anyone, when needed.
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