Note from Art: I’m excited to feature this guest post from Caroline L. Arnold, author of the just-released, Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently. Caroline has some great thoughts here on a topic important to the Management Excellence readers. Enjoy!
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Building High Performance Teams with Heart, by Caroline L. Arnold.
The best teams I’ve been a part of had something beyond high performance—they had heart. When the chips were down, these teams pulled together and delivered against the odds with brio. High performing teams with heart have a tremendous will to win, learn from failure, think hard work is a blast, trust their leaders, and never burn out. In this post, I’ve tried to distill the leadership behaviors and strategies I’ve observed throughout my career that create the kind of team dynamic that boosts performance to the highest level.
1. Offer a Vision Touches Every Member of the Team
High performance is inspired in large part by the firm belief that one’s individual contribution is essential to realizing a vision and furthering the success of the enterprise. No team member should feel that their role is inconsequential, “supporting,” or “back office”; in the trading business, for example, every employee should feel part of the desk, whether his function is trading or configuring routers. Linking each individual’s work product to a vision for the enterprise creates excitement, pride, and high performance.
2. Encourage and Reward Speaking Truth to Power
For a team to achieve top performance, there must be honest and direct communication between a team and its leader. Regularly solicit feedba
ck from subordinates and publicly acknowledge advice that helped you develop in your role. Asking the team how you can improve your own performance provides a powerful example of seeking, rather than fearing, developmental feedback and may motivate team members themselves to ask for feedback (I’ve seen this go viral). Encourage team members to challenge your thinking and to speak up when they believe you’re wrong (any leader who is right all the time has a weak team).
3. Give the Credit Away
Leaders who publicly credit the contributions of others in a successful effort create loyal teams that will strive to outperform. Giving rather than claiming credit will increase your credibility with management more than highlighting your own contributions. It’s a nifty twist that the more you give the credit away, the more likely you are to be seen as a successful leader.
4. Take the Blame
Team failures belong to the boss, period. There is no “they” in team, the finger points in only one direction. If your team has a fail, own it publically. Discourage team members from blame shifting by keeping the focus on solving problems and forward action. Driving towards solutions in the face of setbacks shows that you believe errors can be overcome and encourages members to disclose, rather than cover up, mistakes. And taking a bullet for the team inspires loyalty and integrity at every level.
5. Expect High Performance
Leaders who offer an ambitious vision and plan are expressing confidence in their team’s ability to perform. If you are overly cautious about timelines and buffer all your commitments with caveats and contingencies, you show that you expect less than top performance and you’ll probably get it. Execution plans should be realistic and crafted with respect for work/life balance, but a stretch assignment raises the team’s game, keeps work exciting, and promotes a “can-do” brand that builds team pride. In my experience, teams don’t burn out from challenging assignments—they burn out from bad work culture or relentless routine.
6. Enjoy Work
Leaders who visibly enjoy their work raise the team’s energy level and spirit. Humor (especially the self-deprecating kind) takes the sting out of crunch time and shows that intensity can be fun (or even funny). Encourage some goofing around to reduce team stress, foster camaraderie, and keep creative juices flowing. High performing teams with heart are spirited and often have a playful streak.
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I’ve been lucky in my career to have worked for leaders whose attitude, actions, and personal example created high performance work environments that were also richly human. These managers stretched my capacity, provided me with opportunities for strategic risk taking, encouraged me to speak up, had my back, and made me excited to come to the office every day. One of my most important goals to create this same kind of vibrant work culture for the teams I lead today.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Caroline L. Arnold has been a technology leader on Wall Street for more than a decade, leading software development teams as large as five hundred technologists. She received the Wall Street and Technology Award for creating the Google IPO Auction platform and her name appears on several patents pending. She is a managing director at Goldman Sachs and lives in New York City with her family. You can reach Caroline at her website: www.carolinelarnold.com or via Twitter: @CarolineLArnold
Typo found :: great article though !
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Offer a Vision Touches Every Member of the Team
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From your Guest Post: Building High Performance Teams with Heart on Art Petty’s blog.
J