Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
When the NBA All-Stars were in town last month, they provided an excellent model of managing teams to their highest potential.
Much has been researched and written about high-performing teams, and for darn good reasons. Successful organizations today rely heavily on teams to get things done, whether it is a functional departmental team or project teams. In the last 20 years or so, much of the change and growth realized in organizations is a result of project teams, formed for short and long terms, focused on increasing performance or creating value.
To continue to move our organizations forward, we need managers and leaders who know how to build, direct and engage high-performing teams, and the NBA All-Stars provide some inspiration.
◗ Building the team: For the NBA, the right people for the All-Star team means the players with the best athleticism, performance and attitude on the court. It also means selecting players with different position experience, skills and abilities. The NBA All-Star selection process involves a combination of fan votes, current NBA player votes and media voting, ensuring that the All-Star team includes players who have superior skills, diversity in position and the potential to work well together.
To form a high-performing team in your organization, the responsible manager might select a team leader or co-leaders first. The team leader(s) would then assemble a group of people with subject-matter expertise, possessing a diverse set of skills, background and mindset.
Diversity is important because research shows that the true value of diversity in teams is not attributed to the diverse people themselves, but to the increased drive and engagement from the others on the team. In other words, we are hard-wired to bring our “A” game when challenged by people with different mindsets and experiences, thus making everyone stronger when there is greater diversity.
Sometimes, teams are already formed, or team leaders do not have control over staffing of the team, which can be more challenging. Whether this is the case or not, team leaders use other tactics to ensure the team succeeds. Planning social time for teammates to get to know one another through a kickoff meeting, or sharing meals or experiences can help teammates better understand the unique skills and abilities that other team members bring to the project.
◗ Directing the team: Teams need leadership from higher levels of management to provide a shared purpose and clear goals to work toward. The NBA selects cities in advance that will host, and the league, local NBA franchise and community work together to deliver the event. The “shared purpose” of the game is to celebrate the talented players, connect with the fans and win the game on behalf of the selected local charity.
The team’s common purpose must be communicated by leaders, and specific performance goals must be set by the team itself. Leaders will clarify the team’s overall purpose or challenge, then the team will set goals related to that purpose. Teams need to know the game they are in and the field or court they are playing on; otherwise, team members can get confused, drift apart and deliver average performance. When leaders communicate a clear purpose and allow the team to set goals and establish the “playing rules” on the team, a shared commitment to work together is formed, and the team can accomplish spectacular results.
◗ Engaging the team: The NBA All-Stars generally recognize and respect the abilities and contributions of everyone on their team and other teams. Few people are talented enough to play in the NBA, so the players understand the commitment and sacrifice it takes to get there. Trust needs to be earned, but the players have a head start with one another since becoming a member is a challenging, shared experience.
Holding themselves and one another accountable is a key factor in continual improvement of high-performing team performance. It is reasonable to think that teams will have better nights on the court than others, but great teams learn from mistakes, make corrections and move forward.
Teams in organizations require a level of trust to operate effectively, and a good way to build trust is through individuals holding themselves and their teammates accountable for results. Successful teams accomplish this when they come together to respond to a challenge, develop the plan together, set expectations of behavior and performance goals, then measure outcomes.
After the project is launched, the team will identify and evaluate the gaps without judgment or punishment and adjust the plan going forward if necessary. Not every team will win every game it plays; it is more important to recognize the failure and learn from it to move the project forward.
The NBA All-Stars had a fantastic weekend here in Indy and provided us with a winning game plan for high-functioning, successful teams: Assemble the right group of diverse individuals, establish and communicate a shared vision of success, and generate trust and respect by holding everyone accountable for results.•
__________
Cutillo is a lecturer of management at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Indianapolis.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
LOL. Ask Barb how she would feel about Draymond Green in her workplace.