The best leaders understand that one of their principal responsibilities is to shape the working environment that determines how their team members communicate, collaborate, innovate and problem-solve.  Don’t confuse my phrase: working environment with the physical characteristics of the workplace.  I am talking more about the overall atmosphere that exists within a team and between team members than I am about the furnishings and office color scheme.

If you’ve ever worked on a team where the chemistry was so good that you felt that together you could accomplish anything you set your sights on, you can relate to an effective working environment.  High performance teams tend to be led by individuals that intuitively understand how to identify and develop the right people and create the conditions and setting for these individuals to excel. 

The best leaders intuitively understand how to use: The Seven Leadership Levers that Shape the Working Environment.

1. Recognizing that the leader’s conduct is a powerful force in shaping the working environment.  Integrity, words matching actions, a positive attitude, attentiveness and respect are powerful determinants of the atmosphere of a team.

2. Matching the environmental characteristics to the business situation.  Different approaches are required during a time of crisis versus a period of prosperity.  Managing the challenges of growth or the challenge to grow are very different tasks that require different levels of energy, urgency and innovation.

3. Using shared goals to fuel the team.  Creating a common goal (beat the competition, increase quality, win  award etc.) provides critical context.  This context is fuel for performance.

4. Leveraging adversity to send a powerful message.  The moment in time when your team observes your response to failure is priceless—don’t squander it.

5. Dealing effectively with poor performers.  A major complaint of many top leaders is the failure of their managers to deal with performance issues in a timely manner.   Choosing the right approach, dealing promptly and fairly with the individual sends a strong message that Accountability is alive and well.

6. Using the game clock like a championship coach. Time sets context for your team more powerfully than almost any other variable. Your role as a leader is to ensure that your team understands what part of the game clock they are using at any point in time. The two-minute drill in football is very different from the management of the clock early in the first or second quarter

7. Operational accountability creates focus.  Responsibility and accountability are well understood and results are visible to all.  There are ramifications for not living up to commitments, and the leader’s management of this process is watched closely for consistency.  Well- managed, the state of operational accountability catalyzes strong performance.

The bottom-line:

Understanding and creating the right working environment for the conditions at a point in time is the art in the art and science of leadership.  Conditions change over time, and the best leaders constantly focus on pushing the right levers to ensure that their team adapts, responds and succeeds, regardless of circumstances.