Transforming Teams into Strategic Resources
Just because a team doesn’t have direct responsibility for strategy formulation, doesn’t mean that the team shouldn’t be a strategic resource. But whether or not it can actually realize strategic potential depends entirely on how it manages itself.
If your team is only individuals who happen to be working together, then it isn’t a strategic resource; it’s at best barely functional, and probably under-performing. This is ‘1+1+1 = 2.5’.
Often, organizations focus more on the functional aspects of teams, and are confused about the vital relational aspects. To truly transform teams into strategic resources means paying attention to both the functional and the relational aspects. I usually find that the functional is fine, or would be, if the relational improved.
Relational comprises internal and external considerations. The internal relations are about team members understanding and working effectively with each other. The external relations are about team members working effectively with everyone else outside the team, i.e. the rest of the organization, suppliers or customers.
My approach it to start internally, by establishing agreed, reliable, and consistent behaviours within the team and by encouraging each team member to develop beliefs that support those behaviours. This means that team members know that they can trust each other, and exactly how they can trust each other.
Some call this ‘culture change’. I call it ‘1+1+1 = extraordinary results’!
Even already high-performing teams can benefit.
I am not talking about traditional team-building exercises or adventure related activities which take place totally out of context. Learning how to climb across rope bridges really misses the point. The real issues are back at work, and that is where they can be most effectively dealt with.
Attention to these relational aspects not only improves team functioning: it is what real knowledge management is all about - and it doesn’t entail any technology expense. Team members learn to effectively utilize each other’s knowledge. Those outside the team notice that no matter which team member they deal with, each one seems to know what to do, how to do it, or who can do it.
If you would like to know more about transforming your teams:
