There are many things that contribute to a successful business, and if it were easy to achieve we would all have one. Our experience and observation is that one thing most successful businesses have is a strong leader and a strong leadership team … but often it is not recognised that you need both.
So accepting that a business has strong leadership, what constitutes a real team? In his book “Groups That Work and Those That Don’t”, Richard Hackman defines a real team as follows:
“A real team has a collective task that demands a high level of interdependency
among its members, something that can only be accomplished together;
and clear and stable boundaries, so that membership is not constantly changing,
and it is easy to tell who is on the team.”
In a paper published by The Hay Group, they discuss 5 conditions that help define a successful team:
1. Do they have a clear and compelling direction?
2. Is there an appropriate structure?
3. Do you have the right people?
4. Is there support for those people?
5. Do your people and teams receive continued development?
Whilst leaders strongly influence team performance, it is the team members themselves who actually make teams work, and who deliver the outstanding results that companies need to get from their leadership teams.
Looking to improve the performance of your team? Call or your Altus Adviser.