The Art and Science of Leadership Team Building

True success cannot be achieved alone.  Great leaders recognize the importance of building highly effective teams that better position the organization to achieve the results they desire.  Powerful teams develop a synergy where the output of the group far surpasses the capability of each individual.  An effective leadership team is critical because it sets the tone for the entire organization. Creating and maintaining a functional team requires constant attention and effort. It is one of the most important investments a leader can make.

While team building is both a science and an art, ultimately, a team is only as good as its leader. If you want your team to operate at a higher level, the first place to look is how you can improve yourself.  Know who you are as a leader and understand how your communication style impacts healthy team functioning. Evaluating your leadership strengths and opportunities, seeking feedback from those you lead and learning how your biases may impact your behavior are key ways to know yourself better. This knowledge will help you make the changes needed to lead your team to its full potential.

In addition to knowing yourself, there are three key elements to creating powerful, functional teams: 1.) Build your team with the right individuals. Healthy team functioning requires individuals who are willing and able to manage their own egos for the good of the outcome of the group. It only takes one key member of the team to be overly self-focused to drive the team towards dysfunction if this behavior is left unchecked.  2.) Establish an environment that encourages healthy conflict. Healthy conflict requires a culture of trust. Individuals need to be motivated and feel safe to offer their different perspective in order to truly leverage the diversity of thought that brings out the value having a team provides. 3.) Foster accountability for team relationships.  What happens outside of the team interaction is equally as important as what happens within the group. When the leader continually reinforces the importance of team functioning to each of the team members and holds them accountable for creating positive team relationships, this drives effective team behavior.

At CEO Effectiveness, we help leaders build and sustain successful teams. We do this by focusing on team effectiveness and helping leaders understand how their leadership style and practices can be leveraged to best contribute to team success. We are all only as strong as those we surround ourselves with. Our goal is to give you the tools to help you surround yourself with a high functioning team that achieves the results you desire.

 

Alison Midili Smith, Ph.D

Executive Vice President, CEO Effectiveness

ceoeffectiveness.com   (888) 838-6683

You May Also Like

It’s time for CEOs to rethink the role of human resources

By Christine Hairelson, vice president, employee experience at Accusoft/OnTask COVID was a massive stress test, and gut check, for every organization regardless of size, scope or industry. All departments were

Virtual Connect: The Radical CHRO Series Part 1 (FULL VIDEO)

Stop assuming, start listening. If you want to understand what’s really going on, try listening to your employees. Presented by KnowBe4 Panelists: Jennifer Currence, HR & Leadership Trainer Kelli Houdek,

Solving Skilled Labor Supply Chain Shortfalls

Hiring good people is hard. Hiring good people with specific skills, or credentials is harder. Hiring good people with specific skills, or credentials, in an industry where the demand is

Three things your company should do in response to landmark Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ employees’ rights

Last week the Federal Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees from discrimination in

Other Posts

Girls with Opportunity Become Women of Distinction

By Mary Pat King, CEO, Girl Scouts of West Central Florida Elaine Feaster seized all the opportunities she could as a Girl Scout. On March 8, International Women’s Day, she

Avoid These 4 Common Investing Mistakes People Make in a Slow Economy

You probably remember hearing all about the Titanic in great detail during history class. You might remember how this ship was described as the epitome of luxury and had been

Avoid These 4 Common Investing Mistakes People Make in a Slow Economy by Dr. David Phelps
USF announced plans to launch college focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and computing

The University of South Florida plans to create a college focused on the rapidly evolving fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and computing. USF is the first university in Florida, and

USF research lab receives nearly $3 million in federal support to build and enhance anti-trafficking tools

The University of South Florida’s Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience Research Lab will create added resources to combat human trafficking and aid victims, after receiving nearly $3 million from