Team Execution

We just went through facilitating a session on team execution with one of the management teams this past week. As part of a venture capital investment from OpenView, this type of operational support is something we sometimes do.

Key take aways from the session that apply to any business (and something we learned through collaboration with the Winning Minds group and Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a team) are the following.

1. Bring your best self: Your ability to effectively perform on a team. Focus on what you can do to best perform under pressure and be a key contributor.
2. Team Trust: Trust is the foundation of teamwork. If you cant trust your fellow team members, you will have difficulty working together.
3. Direct Communication: Built on a foundation of trust. Its unfiltered good conflict where team members are voicing their opinions and concerns.
4. Commitment: This is possible when all people are heard. While there may not have to be consensus amongst a group, to move forward on a decision as a team, there must be teamwide commitment.
5. Accountability: Clear commitments allow for accountability. People will know what they agreed to and feel pressure to hit goals.
6. Results: Focus on what is best for the team and hit those goals. A team wins and loses together.

Focusing on items 1-5 and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness here will allow more time being devoted on results and achieving the goals set out for your business.

I will dive deeper into each one of these areas in future blog postings to give more insight on how to deal with these factors based on both personal experiences and situations I have witnessed firsthand.

KKF