Four Ways to Strengthen Any Team

For the past four years I have worked with a great team. It is one of those teams that people dream of.

We had known each other for years, but not well. Then we were hired to develop and implement a program together.

We had some background in the project were launching, but not a lot. So we learned the best practices in the field.

It didn’t take long to find out what worked (and didn’t work) in different contexts.

Then, we took this information and began to imagine our own program. We took tips and strategies from others and adapted it to fit locally.

Less than a month later, we put it into practice.

We continued to tweak and readjust our program as we learned more, but overall, the process was pretty easy. Surprisingly easy.

There were some frustrations and bumps along the way. But it was the right mix of people that made the process flow so well.

The right people and the right chemistry were so important. It was more important than getting the right idea from the start.

It also helped that we believe that different viewpoints improve our work. This attitude allowed us to push each other to grow, to think deeper, and more expansively.

Change is inevitable and this team will not always work together. However, there are a few things I learned from this great working environment:

1.  The right people are more important than the right idea. It is the focus on people - their habits, talents, and values – that make all the difference. As Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios said in his book Creativity Inc., “Find, develop, and support good people, and they in turn will find, develop, and own good ideas.”  

 2.  Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Research. Take the time to plan. Find out the best practices in the field, then adapt them to your context. Learning from those who have paved the way before you, saves time, effort, and money.

 3.  Quality is the Best Business Plan. Finding the right people and having the right mindset before the work starts is essential. Everyone says they want quality, but having a team that lives and breathes quality, is essential.

 4.   Design an environment for growth. Promote honesty and candor. Allow all voices to be heard. Make struggles and problems easy to discuss. Sometimes this comes naturally. Sometimes it may require norms and expectations to be co-created and strictly adhered to.

Everyone wants to be on a great team. However, leaders often don’t know, at first, who is the right fit.

We often place too much value on the background and experience people bring to the team, rather than focusing on finding the right mix of personalities, work ethic, and values. Skills can be taught. Chemistry can’t.

As a challenge this week, consider what you can do to improve the team you are on. It can be as simple as creating meeting norms which will allow more candor and open feedback. It could also be reconsidering which employees will work together on a project.

Making adjustments, even minor ones, can make a huge impact.