High functioning teams do not appear out of thin air, particularly in a culture that prioritizes the pursuit of singular linear targets such as growth, profit and scale to the exclusion of everything else. What enables a team to be high functioning is rather the embodiment of certain attributes at the individual level, which then ripple out to create a healthy systemic team dynamic.
A Model for Enabling High Functioning Teams
The model below identifies six interconnected attributes that work in concert together to create the essential conditions for high functioning teams to emerge. These attributes are intended to be all simultaneously embodied by every member of the team. The model brings together ideas from business, psychology, systemic constellations and the arts.
Order of Time
Teams typically involve roles being occupied by different individuals joining and leaving over time. The individual is transient and the role more permanent. This is particularly true in mature teams within larger organizations. Recognizing and honoring the time order of things and what came before is essential to supporting a healthy team dynamic. This also creates strong foundations for future members to build upon.
For example, a new CEO who is quick to dismiss the work of her predecessors is less likely to be able to effectively occupy her position and gain the support of the wider team. She is likely to alienate team members still secretly loyal to those departed, because the contributions of the departed have not been acknowledged and integrated.
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants -Isaac Newton
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