— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu above. —
YEAH, I MEANT ROLL. I’m on a roll commenting on teams. I want to eject false teams like a spent round of ammunition. They not only fail to produce, they can make matters worse! You think you have firepower, take careful aim, gently pull the trigger…and nothing happens. All that anticipation, all that planning, all of your own energy… and nothin’.
You are downright deceived if you merely call a group a team, hoping for better performance. We have all seen groups of people quickly gravitate to average or worse when left to their own devices. Even high performers get pulled down. The peer pressure to simply “get by” prevails. But if managed well, a group can synergize—the whole become greater than the sum of the parts. What to manage? A meaningful goal. Trust. Accountability. Communication. Measurement. Without suffering a lecture, try this point: Manage the processes of being a highly productive team; performance will follow.