Building super teams

Great teams get the right balance between decision makers, drivers and deliverers.

Decision makers set the strategy. Drivers ensure the strategy is translated into action. They act as positive models and often lead ‘teams within the team’. They approach the leaders and say:

“As far as I understand it, the strategy is … My part and my team’s part in it happen is … Is that correct? Right, I will go and make it happen.”

Drivers then ensure the deliverers produce the goods. Let’s explore how you can make this happen in your team.

1) You can clarify the qualities you want in the drivers.

Great football teams, for example, always have a backbone of strong players who act as the manager’s lieutenants – both on and off the field. Emanating confidence and fighting spirit, they are what sports psychologists call ‘cultural architects’.

They always do their best and transmit these high standards in the way they behave, train and play. They demand a lot of themselves – especially when encountering setbacks – and expect others to give 100%. Woe betide any player who tries to swing the lead at the expense of the team. Drivers play a vital part in shaping great teams in sports, business and other fields.

One MD explained how he relied upon such people.

“Two years ago I became the MD of a mobile telephone company. Looking at the senior team, my first job was to find people who could act as a bridge between me and the field. Otherwise I would be spending all my time bypassing the poor senior managers and behaving like a cop. I looked for leaders who were able:

a) To communicate our vision.

b) To translate the strategy into tactics.

c) To be good models.

d) To lead high performing teams that delivered results.

e) To manage me.

“This final point was crucial, because patience is not one of my virtues. I need senior managers who can implement the strategy, keep me off people’s backs and guide their teams to success.”

Imagine you are leading a team. What are the qualities you want your drivers to demonstrate? You may want them to be positive, customer-focused, good leaders or whatever. Try completing the following sentence.

2) You can get the drivers you want in the team.

Generational shift provides an interesting challenge when it comes to employing the right drivers in a team. This is especially so when breaking-up one team and building a second-generation super team. You can then ask yourself:

a) Who are the present drivers that we want to keep – because they have to right attitude and ability to continue in this role?

b) Who are the ones who may need to move on?

c) Who are the potential drivers we can bring through the ranks and how can we get them up to speed?

d) Who must we bring in from outside?

e) How can we make this transition successfully?

Sometimes it takes months to get everybody you want in the team. During this period it is important to do three things.

First, to make sure the business runs successfully. Whilst you can rely on some key managers, you may have to manage others closely to ensure their teams deliver success.

Second, to encourage the key people you want to keep and behave fairly towards others who may need to move-on.

Third, to do everything possible to get the right drivers in place.

You will, of course, take these steps in your own way. Try completing the following sentences.

3) You can encourage the drivers to enable the whole team to achieve success.

Drivers have strong personalities, they need backing. When appropriate, it is useful:

a) To communicate the ‘What’. This is the picture of success.

You are ultimately responsible, so the overall ‘What’ will not be up for debate. Nevertheless, it can be useful to get some input from the drivers.

b) To communicate the ‘How’. These are the key principles to follow to achieve the picture of success.

You are also responsible for clarifying the key strategies, but it is possible to involve the drivers at this point. They will need to implement the plan. So it is good to get their ideas on the overall strategies and tactics.

c) To make clear contracts about the ‘Who’ and ‘When’.

Encourage the drivers to clarify their action plans for making the strategy happen; the support they need and the measures. Make sure they have the brief and mandate to do the job.

“Sounds okay, but how do you make sure people keep on track?” somebody may ask. Build-in monthly sessions for ‘course correction’. The drivers can present:

* The successes in the past month.

* The plans for the next month.

* The challenges they face, the potential solutions and the required support.

Providing ongoing back-up will encourage and equip the drivers to ensure the whole team delivers success. Try completing the following sentence.

Drivers act as the gears and translate the strategies into action. They bridge the gap between the decision makers and the deliverers. Getting the right drivers in place is a key step in achieving ongoing success.

There are many ways to co-ordinate people’s talents in a team or organisation. Whatever approach is used, it is good to start by doing a proper Strengths Inventory.

The following pages describe an approach you can use to focus on people’s strengths, successful style and specific contribution towards achieving the picture of success. Let’s explore how you can make this happen.

1) You can clarify people’s strengths.

Imagine that you want to put together a Strengths Inventory for a team or organisation. One approach is to begin by clarifying where people deliver As, rather than Bs or Cs. For example:

As

These are the specific activities, tasks or other projects where the person consistently produces fine work. They have a strong feeling for the activity. They deliver the goods and sometimes add that touch of class.

Bs

These are the activities where the person can deliver reasonable work. They may once have actually been good at these tasks, but now get bored and this can lead to mistakes.

Cs

These are the activities for which they have little feeling or aptitude, nor do they have much desire to improve.

So how do you clarify a person’s strengths? One way is to start by interviewing them. (You can also get feedback from other people about the person’s strengths – even if this is simply to do a reality check.)

Below are some questions you can ask the person during such an interview. Where appropriate, ask them to give specific examples. This helps to bring the themes to life and also provides more concrete information. So here are the questions you may invite them to explore.

“What are the deeply satisfying activities where you deliver As, rather than Bs or Cs? What are the activities that you find stimulating? When you do feel in your element – at ease yet able to excel? What are the specific situations in which you quickly see the destination: you go A, B ____ then leap to ___ Z? "

"What are the situations in which you see patterns? What are the activities in which you have the equivalent of a photographic memory?  What the situations in which you feel calm, clear and deliver concrete results? What do you have a track record of finishing? If you were a leader, what would you hire somebody like yourself to deliver?”

As mentioned earlier, it can also be useful to get a reality check from other people. You can then complete the following exercise.

2) You can clarify people’s successful styles.

So far we have looked at people’s strengths. This is ‘what’ they do best. It is now time to move onto their successful style. This is ‘how’ they work best. Sometimes this provides an even better understanding of their talents.

Everybody has a positive history. They have tackled challenges, overcome crises and performed great work. So how do you find a person’s preferred way of working? One approach is to interview them by exploring the following themes.

“Looking back on your life, describe what for you have been three stimulating and satisfying projects. Use the term ‘project’ in the broadest sense. You may have got great satisfaction, for example, from designing a web site, launching a product, organising a charity ‘fun run’, leading a team, helping somebody to master a skill or whatever. Exploring each project in turn, describe the specific things that made each one fulfilling.”

The person will probably start by saying something like: “The first ‘project’ that comes to mind is when I _________.” They may describe when they studied for a degree, wrote a book, gave a keynote speech, revitalised a team or whatever.

Clarify the principles they followed and the practical steps they took to achieve success. Invite them to describe the adventure in great detail. So you may want to ask some of the following questions.

“Let’s start with your motivation. How did the project come about? Did you set the goal or did somebody else offer you the opportunity? Was it something you felt passionately about or matched your values? What was the trigger that made you really want to go for the goal?”

“Let’s move on to the actual goal. How early did you clarify the picture of success – the ‘what’? Did it come straight away or later? If other people were involved, how much input did you have in setting the goal? What was your picture of success? What were the real results you wanted to achieve? How did you settle on the ‘how’ – the key strategies for achieving success? Did you have freedom, within parameters, regarding how you achieved the goal?”

“Let’s move on to how you performed the work. Did you mainly work by yourself or with other people? If you worked with others, what were the characteristics of these people? Did you work for a manager? If so, what were the qualities the manager demonstrated? What went well when working with the colleagues or the manager?”

“Looking at the work, did you follow a certain rhythm? How did you organise your time? How did you do superb work? How did you do reality checks regarding whether or not if was working? How did you get support? How did you encourage yourself on the journey? How did you find creative solutions to challenges?”

“Let’s move on to the actual result. How did you keep working hard to reach the goal? How did you know when you had achieved success? Was there a specific deliverable, a deadline or some element of performance? Looking at the project, what were the most satisfying things? What did you do well? What would you do better if you were to tackle this kind of project again in the future? Are there any things you would like to say about the project?”

Go through each project in turn. Then explore the following themes with the person.

“Looking back on each of these examples, can you see any patterns? Describe what you believe to be the principles you follow when pursuing your preferred way of working. For example, you may prefer to focus on a certain kind of project, with certain kinds of people and in a certain kind of ‘place’ – culture and environment."

"You may also have several different successful styles: such as one when working alone, another when working with other people. Bearing this in mind, try to describe how you do your best work.”

So what do you find when exploring people’s successful styles? Whilst everybody is different, you may find some of the following patterns.

a) The pattern they follow may mirror some of the common themes in human activity.

You may find that the person enjoys, for example: caring, nurturing, encouraging, building, making things work, trading, creating, designing, problem solving, exploring, pioneering, providing great experiences, educating, passing on knowledge, showing a better way, helping people to succeed, achieving, performing or whatever. They may, of course, combine some of these themes.

b) The ways they express these themes differs from person to person.

They may choose to pursue an existing profession – such as being an educator, nurse, doctor, business person, programmer, engineer, architect, customer service director or whatever. On the other hand, they may also create their own niche or ‘profession’.

c) The person can be encouraged to follow their successful style in the future.

You can help them to follow their style in a way that is a ‘win-win-win’. It can be a win for them, a win for the employer and, if appropriate, a win for the customer.

We will explore this theme in the next section. Before moving onto the actual role, however, you can meet with the person and complete the following exercise.

3) You can clarify people’s specific contribution.

Imagine you have completed the first two columns of the Strengths Inventory. Looking at each individual, you have clarified: a) The person’s strengths – this is ‘what’ they do best; b) The person’s successful style – this is ‘how’ they work best. Putting these together can create a powerful combination. So you can move on to: c) The person’s specific contribution to the employer.

How to make this happen? It is useful to go through the following steps.

* To focus on the team’s or organisation’s picture of success.

* To ask: “Bearing in mind the person’s strengths and successful style, what would be their best contribution towards achieving the goals? What would be the benefits – for them, for the company and for the customer?”

* To ask: “Bearing in mind the person’s role, how can we help them to do three things. First: To build on their strengths – where they deliver As? Second: To manage the consequences of their weaknesses – their Bs and Cs? Third: To make their best contribution towards achieving the picture of success?”

You can then meet with each person to make clear contracts about their contribution. This is to be defined in outcome terms. Agree on the specific results they will deliver.

Every role can build on people’s strengths and contribute towards achieving the overall goals. Sometimes this means people taking existing roles and shaping these differently. Sometimes it means creating new roles – or combinations of roles – which aren’t in old-style job descriptions. So meet with the person and complete the following exercise.

Imagine that you have completed a Strengths Inventory. After clarifying each person’s best contribution, you can ask: "How can we co-ordinate these strengths to achieve the picture of success?" Keep going until, as far as possible, most of the goals have been covered.

What about the tasks that remain? You can choose either:

a) To share the remaining tasks across the team.

b) To offer the work to rising stars who want to prove their worth.

c) To find other creative solutions to completing these tasks.

Super teams do the basics and then add the brilliance. They always complete the grunt work and also do the great work.

There are many ways to employ people’s talents. One approach is to do a proper Strengths Inventory. You can then ensure that people build on their strengths, perform superb work and achieve the picture of success.

Imagine you are a leader. Super teams are built on 'similarity of spirit and diversity of strengths'. Diversity of spirit is a recipe for disaster.

So what are the qualities you are looking for in people? Super teams employ people who want to be positive, professional and peak performers.

Let’s explore how you can identify whether the people in your team demonstrate these qualities.

1) You can employ people who are positive.

Start by looking at each person in your team – or those you want to hire. Ask yourself the following questions:

“Do they have a positive attitude? Do they generate positive energy? Are they enthusiastic? Do they encourage other people? How do people feel after meeting them?

“Do they take responsibility? Do they use ‘volunteer language', saying that they want ‘to make things happen’? Or do they use ‘victim language', saying that ‘things happen to them’? Are they resilient? Do they rebound from setbacks?”

Bearing these answers in mind, ask yourself the following questions:

“On a scale 0 – 10, to what extent do I rate the person as being positive: a) towards customers: b) towards colleagues?”

Some employees can behave superbly with customers, for example, but may be difficult with colleagues. Great team members recognise that it is important to be positive with both groups.

Looking at each person in turn, rate them in both areas. Then describe what they can do to maintain or improve the ratings.

2) You can employ people who are professional.

Move onto the next stage. Again, looking at each person in turn, ask the following questions:

“Do they behave professionally? Are they customer focused? Do they produce good quality work? Do they make clear contracts with people? Do they meet their promises?”

“Are they self-managing? Do they want to improve? When making a decision, are they able to sketch-out the possible strategies? Do they see the consequences of each option? Do they then make good decisions? Are they proactive? Do they stay ahead of the game?”

“What are the words that their colleagues say about them? What are the words that their manager and the other key players in the organisation say about them?”

Bearing these answers in mind, ask yourself: “On a scale 0 – 10, to what extent do I rate the person as being professional: a) towards customers: b) towards colleagues?” Rate them in both areas – then describe what they can do to maintain or improve the ratings.

3) You can employ people who can be peak performers.

Move onto the final stage. Looking at each person in turn, ask yourself:

“Do they have the ability to be a peak performer? What are the activities in which they deliver As, rather than Bs or Cs? When are they in their element – where they feel at ease yet excel? When do they produce excellence?”

“If this were my own business – and my own money – would I employ this person? If so, what would I hire them to deliver? What would be the benefits to the team?”

Bearing these answers in mind, ask yourself: “On a scale 0 – 10, to what extent do I rate the person as delivering peak performances: a) when working with customers: b) when working with colleagues?” Rate them in both areas – then describe what they can do to maintain or improve the ratings.

What scores are you looking for? Here is one guide.

* Being positive: 8+.

* Being professional: 7+. This is providing they are willing to keep developing.

* Being a peak performer: 7+. This is providing they are willing to use their talents to the benefit of the team.

One leader said:

“The part I found most useful was rating one of my key players in relation to both customers and colleagues. He was superb with clients, but terrible with team members. He dismissed people’s opinions and moaned aloud in the office."

"So I gave him the option of: a) Choosing to be professional towards team members, or: b) Carrying on being unprofessional and, as a result, being moved-on from the team.”

“After a period of reflection, he chose to be professional towards his colleagues. Since then he has been true to his word, but security is to have an alternative. So I have visited his customers, introduced them to other team members and have a back-up plan in case he reverts to his old behaviour.”

Spirit is crucial. It is vital to have team members aim to be positive, professional and peak performers. This provides the basis for continuing to build a super team.

“Six months ago we moved towards being a matrix organisation, which seems to have stopped everybody in their tracks,” explained one manager.

“Previously you could wander over to somebody’s desk, discuss a topic and make a decision. Nowadays there are ‘dotted reporting lines’ everywhere and everybody has an opinion about everything.

“People are paralysed and the organisation is grinding to a halt. I just want to get on with the job and produce great work.”

How to cope with such a challenge? This kind of situation can arise, for example, when an organisation creates complicated reporting lines or when people take ages to make decisions. Alternatively, you may be tackling a project that depends on other departments getting their acts together.

As MIT Labs say, however, the reality is: Demo or Die. People buy success, they don’t buy the theory of success.

Let’s explore how you can, as far as possible, box-off your work to deliver peak performance.

1) You can clarify what you can control and box-off your project to deliver success.

Imagine you have been asked to improve your company’s customer service ratings across Europe.

You believe this will be possible in Germany, Scandinavia and Spain. But there are several other places where the delivery depends on the respective country leaders.

Some of these leaders aren’t interested; some take ages to provide the right backing; some have departments that debate whether the changes are necessary. So it will be important:

a) To clarify what you can and can’t control.

b) To clarify the support you require to do the job.

c) To clarify the chances of success in each country.

Rate these on a scale 0 – 10. Clarify what must be done to improve the ratings to at least 7+/10. Then decide where you want to concentrate your efforts to deliver success. 

Bearing in mind what you can control, do two things.

First, formulate what you believe it is possible to achieve.

Translate these into specific goals and clarify the benefits to the business. Make sure that – providing you are given sufficient autonomy – you can guarantee to deliver these results.

Second, formulate what you could achieve if you got backing from other parts of the organisation – particularly those that are not providing the required support.

Outline the benefits to the business. Then move onto the next stage.

2) You can make clear contracts about what you can deliver by yourself and with help from parts of the organisation.

You have boxed-off what there is a good chance of delivering. It now time to make clear contracts with your key sponsor – the person who can hire or fire you.

Explain the options, show the benefits and agree on the way forward. Imagine you are responsible for the customer service initiative. In the most diplomatic way possible, you may say something like:

“There are a number of options as we move forward. It is possible:

a) To improve the customer service ratings in the following countries: _______, _______, _______ .

“This will be possible because we can make quick decisions and have the backing of the country managers. People want to work with us to achieve the goals and these will deliver real business benefits.

b) To improve the customer service ratings in several other countries, such as: _______, _______, _______.

“This will be more difficult, however, because it requires real commitment from the country teams.

There are several options regarding this second group of countries.

First, I can continue to try to get them on-board – but there is the danger they will see me as haranguing.

Second, there can be a ‘strong request’ from the centre, asking them to give real support.

Third, we can be polite and invite them to take part, but not badger them. We can then put our energy into building successful prototypes elsewhere and show the benefits of delivering great customer service.

“So to summarise. I can guarantee to improve the customer service ratings in certain countries. These will bring tangible benefits to the business.

“There needs to be decisions made, however, regarding how to work with the more reluctant countries. I am also open to other suggestions because it is important to do our best to improve customer service.”

You can use this approach in any situation where the controllables are relatively limited. Be positive, professional and do everything possible to explore creative solutions before meeting your sponsor.

During the meeting describe the potential ways forward: the choices and the consequences. Outline things ‘as they are’ and ‘as they could be’.

The pluses of this approach are: you describe what you will deliver, explain the facts and show what is possible with sufficient backing. The potential pitfalls include: you must behave in an absolutely professional way – otherwise you can be perceived as criticising others.

Make clear contracts with you sponsor regarding the route ahead, then move to the next stage.

3) You can perform superb work on the boxed-off project and deliver success.

Let’s return to the customer service project. During the meeting with your sponsor, it was agreed:

a) To spend 80% of your time in the next 3 months running prototypes in the early adopter countries.

This calls for doing in-depth work and delivering outstanding success. 

b)  To make a strong request for future backing from the centre to the remaining countries.

The request will explain that you are now running prototypes which are likely to be successful. During the forthcoming weeks, however, you will also be visiting other countries.

The aim will be to line-up the support required when the principles go live across Europe in 3 months time. The request will underline that it will be mandatory for each country to deliver the high customer service ratings.

You can then focus on the boxed-off project – working with the early adopter countries. Because you did your due diligence, you are prepared to be judged by these results. You can then be professional, focus on the controllables and perform superb work.

If appropriate, you can over-deliver by adding that touch of class. This will take different forms on different projects – but must add something special that benefits the business.

At the same time, you can try to influence some of the uncontrollables: but stay calm if there is little response. You have already given people a strategic overview, set specific goals and made clear contracts.

Taking these steps will set the criteria by which people judge your work as a professional. This will enable you to retain your sanity in a challenging organisation.

You may or may not face this kind of issue in your work place. If you do, however, try completing the following sentences.

Imagine you are taking over an existing team. Let's assume you have a clear brief and mandate from your sponsors.

The next step will be to meet the team members. How can you get to know each person’s strengths? How can you show that you expect them to take responsibility?

Start by having a short meeting with the whole team. Create a good atmosphere, introduce yourself and begin to set the tone.

Explain that you obviously have clear goals for the team, but that you would also like their input. You will therefore be having one-to-one sessions with each person.

Here are three steps you can take before, during and after these sessions.

1) You can invite each person to do some pre-work before the one-to-one session.

Explain that before the sessions you would like each person to do some pre-work. While it will be okay to cover other topics, this will provide a starting point for the discussion.

You will be asking them to focus on the following topics. Here is the complete pack you can send them, together with the introductions explaining the exercises.

This seems like a lot of work. But it has proved very successful – and revealing – for many leaders who have used the pack as the basis for their first one-to-one with team members.

2) You can have a one-to-one session with each person.

Start by making the person feel welcome. Set the scene by repeating what you said at the team meeting.

You obviously have views on the team’s goals, but you want their input. You also want to get to know them, their strengths and their best contribution. They will also have the opportunity to ask any questions and you will answer these as far as possible.

Encourage the person to explain their pre-work. This gives you the chance:

* To see how much effort they have put into the task.

* To encourage them to think strategically about the team’s future.

* To begin understanding their strengths.

Listen to the person, answer any questions and build your understanding of their potential contribution.

Continue by explaining the next stage in the process of building a super team. After clarifying the team’s picture of success – which will include people’s input – the whole team will be invited to make it happen.

You will follow-up with another one-to-one session to finalise each person’s part in achieving the goals.

It is then time to move onto the next step.

3) You can start making decisions about each person’s contribution to the team.

Reflect on the individual sessions. Ask yourself the following questions.

“Who do I definitely want in the team? Who might I want in the team? Who don’t I want in the team and how can I find replacements?

“Looking at the people I want in the team, what are their strengths? What would be their best contribution?

“How can I co-ordinate people’s strengths to achieve the goals? How can I fill these gaps?”

The next step will be to make clear contracts about each person's contribution to the team. You will have laid the foundations for this when meeting them in the one-to-one sessions.