6 Conditions for Team Success in 2023
The holidays have officially arrived, and as our schedules fill up with parties and family responsibilities, making time for reflection isn’t often at the top of our to-do list. Coasting through the end of the year can be very tempting, but I encourage you to make space to evaluate your team’s health and performance during the last year. What are your greatest successes? Your greatest challenges? If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to gauging your team’s effectiveness, let me introduce you to the research associated with the Team Diagnostic Survey.
Like a plant needs the right conditions to grow, your team also needs the right conditions in order to succeed. Created by Drs. Ruth Wageman, Richard Hackman, and Erin Lehman at Harvard, the Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS) research identifies 6 conditions that result in successful teams. These conditions predict up to 80% of a team’s effectiveness. Together, they collectively influence the 3 key task processes that drive team effectiveness:
Effort, how hard members work together
Strategy, the quality of a team’s approach to their work
Knowledge and Skill, how the team utilizes its full capabilities
When leaders focus on creating the conditions that drive these 3 task processes, the team effectiveness is better able to blossom and grow.
Here’s what you need to know.
The Essentials
The 6 conditions identified in the TDS are divided into two categories: the Essentials and the Enablers. The Essentials are the three main conditions that build a sturdy foundation for your team. The Essentials are aptly named; these conditions are non-negotiable for team success. In order to operate at peace effectiveness, you need a Real Team, working toward a Compelling Purpose, comprised of the Right People. If any of these conditions are missing or weak, your team will suffer.
A Real Team
A Real Team is one that is bounded, meaning that members know who is and is not on the team. Real Teams are stable, members stay together long enough to learn how to work effectively together. Finally, Real Teams are interdependent. The team must work together for a common purpose, interacting regularly and sharing resources when needed. You can boost your Real Team essential by establishing clear roles on your team, encouraging collaboration, and by meeting more frequently to increase cohesion.
A Compelling Purpose
A Compelling Purpose requires more than just the motivation to get something done. We covered this in my last issue, so check out that newsletter to learn more about creating a Compelling Purpose.
The Right People
Having the right people on your team can make all the difference. This may seem like a no-brainer, but really reflect on who your team is. Does your team have the skills to do the work effectively; both task and teamwork skills? How diverse is your team? The Right People must be diverse, which allows for a good mix of perspectives and capabilities needed for the work. If your team is too similar to each other in both background and experience, the range of perspectives could be too narrow. A team of polar opposites may be too different, and will struggle to understand each other’s perspective. Like seasoning a pot of soup, you must ensure the right mix to maintain the balance.
The Enablers
While the Essentials are required for team excellence, Enablers are there to accelerate team development. Once you have created the conditions for the Essentials, you should turn next to the quality of the Enablers: a Sound Structure, Supportive Organizational Context, and effective Team Coaching. Creating ideal conditions for the Enablers will allow you and your team to experience success more quickly and with greater ease.
A Sound Structure
Even teams with the Right People can struggle if a Sound Structure is not in place. In my last newsletter, we discussed the elements of a Sound Structure - click here to refresh your memory!
Supportive Organizational Context
Are you set up for success? A Supportive Context means the organization’s structures and systems promote rather than prevent teamwork. The last issue of Your Future, Your Work touched on meeting the needs of your team and allocating resources. You can brush up here.
Team Coaching
Here’s where you may need to do the most internal reflection. Team Coaching means that someone is available to the team - often the leader - who pays attention to the team’s process and intervenes at helpful moments. For Team Coaching to be helpful, leaders must be consistently present or often available for the team. Most importantly, leaders must be actually helpful, meaning the person doing the coaching knows how and when to intervene. After Action Review supports stability and team growth by identifying the positive and negative contributions to the work, and suggesting what can be done better in the future.
Your team will thrive in the right conditions, but you need to help create them. As 2022 disappears into the rear view mirror and you look toward 2023, consider how you can better foster these conditions. Are you planting seeds in the middle of a snowstorm, or are you setting the ideal conditions for your team to grow and thrive?