Each team creates a collective persona. How do you describe the team or teams (and the team members) you work with?
In my own career, and among audiences and organizations I consult with and speak to, I experience three types of manifested team purpose. Teams can create a sense of united purpose. Or teams create a complementary sense of purpose among members. Then again, some teams are characterized by divisions reflecting factions of purpose and agendas.
Consider that your team purpose reflects the sum of the parts of that team. Then work with what, and who, you have aboard for your adventure.
When I consult with teams who initially over-obsess about the notion that everyone has to row in the same direction, they often become incapable of making effective decisions. Are you been a member of a team which constantly drills down on minutiae in order to arrive at a unified decision? Not only does this type of team purpose waste tons of nonbillable time. Also, the decision that is finally reached tends to have all the soul, creativity, and risk sucked out of it. What’s the fun of perpetuating that tack?
Then again, I work with teams who are so entrenched in the individual or factious agendas of some members that each meeting becomes a battleground. The purpose of the team ceases to be creating enduring, customer-focused outcomes. Rather, the purpose of the team becomes the preservation of a contentious environment. The divided purpose of the team becomes a team sport supported by everyone’s salary, apparently.
Finally, I experience the energy of complementary teams. These are savvy enough to acknowledge everyone’s perspective while never losing sight of the team purpose of creating output. These teams create and maintain a collaborative perspective. In addition, these teams (at least the best examples of them) also reflect dynamics which foster honesty, skepticism, analysis, and creativity.
Consider your own professional purpose and whether you thrive on teams whose purpose is united, complementary, or divided.
Depending on what your career and personal goals are, you may prefer being part of teams which reflect one of these three types of team personas. Even if you feel stuck in your current employment situation, becoming aware of how team dynamics impact your roles and performance metrics is important to your future objectives. How does what you currently “do” reflect your professional and personal goals and preferences? Is it time to take your next steps forward by contacting me here?
Meet people where they are. Get to where you really need to go. Together. | One Millimeter Mindset | Professional Innovation | Cross Functional Leadership | Speaker, Consultant, Mentor |
Babette Ten Haken’s One Millimeter Mindset ™ speaking, consulting, and mentoring programs catalyze people to collaborate more innovatively by moving one purpose-driven one millimeter beyond the mindset holding you back from moving forward. Create and implement more strategically agile, enduring, and rewarding outcomes. Babette’s 3 Core Questions, 4 Change Agreements, and 5 Professional Whys catalyze everyone to ask the questions that get everyone to where they really need to go, together. Babette is a business-oriented STEM professional, qualitative Voice of the Customer facilitator, PMI-certified Wicked (Complex) Problem Solver, Duke Corporate Education licensed Strategic Agility practitioner, and Six Sigma Green Belt (Quality). She is a member of SHRM, PMI, and the National Speakers Association (NSA). All programs delivered virtually and/or in-person. Her playbook of cross-functional collaboration, Do YOU Mean Business? is available in digital format on Amazon.com.
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