Ready to Develop a Kick-ass Team?
Let’s be honest: every leader wants a high-performing team. When you’re leading people, it’s natural to want them to hit goals, navigate challenges, and collaborate like it’s second nature.
But most leaders get stuck right there, because building high-performing teams is a lot of work. And while the skill sets and personalities on your team matter, the truly kick-ass, successful teams aren’t always composed of a bunch of standout “A-players.”
The truly kick-ass, successful teams are built by people who feel safe to speak up, share innovative ideas, and challenge the status quo without fear of being shut down or embarrassed. Everything else has to come after that to actually be effective.
So, if you’re ready to develop a kick-ass team functionally and foundationally, you’re in the right place. These are the four habits that really do unlock real team performance.
1. Communicate in the right style.
One of the trickiest — and most important — skills to learn as a leader is the ability to communicate in different styles. Specifically, it’s the ability to communicate in your team members' style rather than just your own!
Why? Well, because meeting your team where they are can make all the difference in your performance. It’s what moves a conversation from transactional to transformational, and it also builds trust and engagement.
At the end of the day, we’re all different. Some people want the big picture. Others need the fine print. Some want to talk about personal life before KPIs. Others want to go straight to business. Take the time (within reason, of course) to be intentional with your communication styles and watch as everything becomes so much smoother.
2. Actually model a culture of openness.
It’s one thing to ask for feedback and praise openness in your team, but it’s another to truly embody it. If you want to create a collaborative, trusting, and transparent culture, you have to show your team that you’re open to feedback, questions, and honesty — and you have to normalize that openness by modeling it. Take this example — next time you lead a meeting that ends up being a weighty one, don’t just assume everything went well. Instead, ask questions like this:
Do you guys feel like I communicated in a way that supported your needs?
Was there a moment I could have handled?
How can I better support the group dynamic next time?
Is there anything I can follow up on to help you?
3. Eliminate judgment from your routine.
Judging people — whether positively or negatively — is really part of life. However, judgment can also be one of the fastest ways to kill trust. When you’re leading a team, you’re always going to have people who work or communicate differently than you. An inability to understand that (and lean into it) doesn’t speak poorly of them. It speaks poorly of your leadership.
So next time, instead of jumping to conclusions (even in your mind!), get curious about what’s driving your team. Are they motivated by results? Collaboration? Structure? I have some really great tools that can help you understand your team’s unique motivations and behavioral strengths — and can also show all of you how differences can become assets instead of obstacles. However, in the meantime, just pause. Before you sigh or fire off a Slack, just ask: “What’s behind their perspective?”
You might be surprised at what you learn.
4. Make space for healthy opposition.
Opposition is what pushes teams to get better, innovate, and push boundaries. It’s a GOOD thing. However, there’s a catch: it has to be safe and healthy. If it’s not, you’re not dealing with anything productive — and that doesn’t help anyone.
Wondering how to get there? It’s actually simpler than you think. It’s about being really, really intentional. Ask lots of questions (these shift the tone for you), focus on building trust, and regularly ask for feedback. By asking your team members to share their perspectives, you can get a much better pulse on the impact of a decision — and invite in commentary that can often improve the process itself.
Kick-ass teams aren’t built by chance. They’re built with intention.
If you’re ready to dig into what drives your team, supports them, and encourages them, you’re in the right place. I’d love to help you develop your high-performance-focused leadership capacity, and I’m ready when you are. Get in touch with me to book a call here.
Dawn Garibaldi is the CEO and Founder of Amplify Strategy Group. As an experienced corporate leader and certified executive coach, she’s on a mission to serve leaders who find themselves in high stress, high stakes, new or changed situations to create significant impact, confident performance and powerful relationships -- with stakeholders, teams and peers. She shares powerful strategies and tactics to quickly amplify confidence, success and achievements far beyond what they thought possible.