Building High-Functioning Teams

Building and nurturing high-functioning teams is an integral role of leadership. Teams that operate seamlessly and collaboratively are more agile, innovative, and productive.

But within these seamless and collaborative teams are individuals. Individuals with unique strengths, perspectives, and experiences. As Untapped Leaders, recognizing and appreciating those individualities is what allows us to build great teams.

Professor Darius Frasure refers to this recognition as thinking of “organizations as organisms”. Instead of viewing an organization, and the teams within that organization, as singular bodies, view them as “living ecosystems that interrelate” instead. 

If that sounds like a complicated approach to building high-functioning teams, it can be. But with Professor Frasure's C.O.D.E roadmap, he breaks down the four components you need to begin building your own. Here’s how:

Culture

Start with culture. Culture is how your team communicates, engages and interacts with each other. It’s language and expectations, values and norms. Most importantly, culture is a shared understanding that everyone contributes to. Your culture helps you build a team that works well together and works toward your organization's goals.

Opportunities and Opposition

Take advantage of opportunities that are present. Building a great team takes time and intention. But while you’re focused on the micro details, zooming out to assess — both individually and collectively — is essential. Spend time understanding the strengths within the organization, the individuals who contribute to the team, and the internal and external resources available. When gaining knowledge through assessments, utilize and put those insights into action.

Direction

Be clear about what you’re doing and where you’re going as a team. Having a clear understanding of your mission, vision, goals, and values — both personal and professional — is crucial as you bring your team together. This understanding is what will give your team direction. Direction involves both vertical alignment (alignment with the organization's goals) and horizontal alignment (alignment within the team).

Engagement

Measure your efforts. While engagement is the fuel that propels a team forward, that engagement will look different for different groups. What’s important is that you learn to measure engagement in a way that makes sense for your team and will provide insight into your team-building efforts. Use key performance indicators and other metrics to help you understand what’s working and where you need to make improvements.

Building a great team is a marathon. It’s a process of deep commitment, introspection, and intention. Build, assess, adapt, and adjust as you go.