Focusing on Results

This is the final article in a seven part series. Read the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth articles.

Every teams’ ultimate goal is results.

For any team to excel, every single team member must be willing to put the team’s goals ahead of their own individual goals.

If you’re reading this thinking “well, duh”, let me tell you, just because it is obvious, doesn’t mean it’s what happens.

In the study of over 4,000 participants, when asked if they had seen a project suffer because people put their own needs ahead of the team’s needs, 87% of people said they had.

The only way to know that everyone is focusing on the collective results of the team is if people know they are going to be held accountable for anything that is not for the good of the team. This is how accountability enables results.

Lencioni says “On strong teams, no one is happy until everyone is succeeding.”

Even when everyone knows what is supposed to happen, it is still possible to wander off course. What can help in avoiding this from happening is to understand what could distract your team from focusing on results; things like insufficient or ineffective processes, vague or shifting goals, lack of shared rewards, and lack of drive and urgency.

Once you have identified what distracts your team from focusing on results, establish ways that, as a team, you can improve on or overcome them. For example, if your team identified that ineffective processes were having an impact, brainstorm some systems you can put in place to clean up your processes.

It sounds simple enough, but until you identify what is stopping you from focusing on collective results and start looking for ways to overcome them, then unfortunately, nothing is going to change.

So, there we have it, you now understand what the five key behaviours of cohesive teams are and how they compound to create strong teams that trust one another, are comfortable engaging in conflict and commit to, and hold each other accountable to the collective results of the team.

If you have enjoyed these articles are interested to find out if your team could benefit from the Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team Program, let’s book in a 30-minute consult so you can tell me what is going on and we can discuss if I can help you.

If you want to read more about The Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team Program you can do so here

Jess Weiss / Managing Consultant

jess@humantribe.com.au