The Wisdom of Teams. Creating the High-performance Organization

n high-performance teams, the role of the team leader is less important and more difficult to identify because all members lead the team at different times.

Periodically assessing the team against the criteria listed at the end of Chapter 3 will help anyone, whether part of the team or not, evaluate team performance and effectiveness.

Asking the following questions can help evaluate the team leader’s attitude, behavior, and effectiveness:
Has the leader adopted a team or a working group approach? Does the leader:
make all important decisions?
make all work assignments?
make all evaluations of individuals?
ensure work is conducted primarily on the basis of individual accountability?
do any “real work” beyond decision making, delegating, and agenda setting?
Is the leader striving for the right balance between action and patience within the team? Does the leader:
promote constructive conflict and resolution?
use distance and perspective to keep the team’s actions and directions relevant? Intimidate anyone on the team?
constantly challenge the team to sharpen its common purpose, goals, and approach?

There are, however, two critical things real team leaders never do: they do not blame or allow specific individuals to fail, and they never excuse away shortfalls in team performance. This, again, is behavior that most of us admire and can practice. But organizations built on individual instead of mutual accountability often foster the reverse. Too often, when expected results do not materialize, individuals get singled out for blame, or outside forces like the economy, the government, or the weather get identified as the cause. By contrast, real team leaders honestly believe that success or failure is a team event.

6. Do real work. Everyone on a real team, including the leader, does real work in roughly equivalent amounts. Team leaders do have a certain distance from the team by virtue of their position, but they do not use that distance “just to sit back and make decisions.” Team leaders must contribute in whatever way the team needs, just like any other member. Moreover, team leaders do not delegate the nasty jobs to others. Where personal risks are high or “dirty work” is required, the team leader should step forward.

. Create opportunities for others. Team performance is not possible if the leader grabs all the best opportunities, assignments, and credit for himself or herself. Indeed, the crux of the leader’s challenge is to provide performance opportunities to the team and the people on it.

4. Manage relationships with outsiders, including removing obstacles. Team leaders are expected, by people outside as well as inside the team, to manage much of the team’s contacts and relationships with the rest of the organization. This calls on team leaders to communicate effectively the team’s purpose, goals, and approach to anyone who might help or hinder it. They also must have the courage to intercede on the team’s behalf when obstacles that might cripple or demoralize the team get placed in their way.
Almost always the mutual trust so critical to a team begins with the leader who must show that the team can depend on him or her to promote

3. Strengthen the mix and level of skills. Effective team leaders are vigilant about skills. Their goal is clear: ultimately, the most flexible and top-performing teams consist of people with all the technical, functional, problem-solving, decision-making, interpersonal, and teamwork skills the team needs to perform. To get there, team leaders encourage people to take the risks needed for growth and development. They also continually challenge team members by shifting assignment and role patterns.

2. Build commitment and confidence. Team leaders should work to build the commitment and confidence of each individual as well as the team as a whole. As we discussed earlier, there is an important difference between individual commitment and accountability versus mutual accountability. Both are needed for any group to become a real team. Thus, the leader must keep both the individual and the team in mind as he or she tries to provide positive, constructive reinforcement while avoiding intimidation.

. Build commitment and confidence. Team leaders should work to build the commitment and confidence of each individual as well as the team as a whole. As we discussed earlier, there is an important difference between individual commitment and accountability versus mutual accountability. Both are needed for any group to become a real team. Thus, the leader must keep both the individual and the team in mind as he or she tries to provide positive, constructive reinforcement while avoiding intimidation.