Inspired teams
By: Comparative Agility
Tags: Inspired, Team

This article was written by Dr. Steven Wolff, author of Inspired Teams, a team-based survey featured on Comparative Agility.

You might be asking, “Why do we need another team framework?” I have been studying teams for over 25 years and in that time I have seen a drastic change in the business environment; we are in the midst of a paradigm change taking us from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age. The bottom line is that the use of teams in the organization has changed from a tactical means to get work done to a strategic weapon.

It is no longer sufficient to improve collaboration so teams can more effectively achieve outcomes. In a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) teams that are agile can be a key source of competitive advantage. They must be sensitive to changes in the business environment, resilient, innovative, quickly learn and adapt, and be able to accelerate value creation. Oh, by the way, they also need to be highly collaborative.

The basics of inspired teams

I want you to imagine a team where people are not only motivated; they are energized. Imagine a team that is not only innovative; it creates breakthroughs. Imagine a team that not only gets its work done; it constantly learns and accelerates value creation. Imagine a team where people not only contribute; they are authentic and able to have difficult discussions.

This is an Inspired Team.

The Inspired Teams Framework is a roadmap, a practical guide that will help you understand how to focus attention and behavior in your team to create the characteristics you imagined. The framework is not a prescription; each team is different and must develop in a way that is right for its unique “personality.”

4 Outcomes of Inspired Teams and Generative Leverage Point

Energy: Energetic teams generate full alignment and commitment to the team’s purpose. Team members support each other to be their best selves. Each member feels safe and encouraged to bring their full self and capabilities to their work on the team.

The leverage points for creating Energy are two groups of agreements (norms): Create Meaning and Build Connection.

The norms in Create Meaning focus attention on creating a compelling shared purpose and crafting meaningful roles that energize members. The norms in Build Connection focus attention on understanding and supporting one another, which strengthens relationships.

Innovation: This outcome represents the ability of the team to learn, work under uncertainty, and create breakthrough innovations, not just incremental improvements.

The leverage points for creating this outcome are two groups of norms: Resilience and Exploration.

The norms of Resilience create a healthy orientation to challenge and failure.

The norms of Exploration create curiosity. They focus the team on experimenting to gain insights that help it learn and think “out of the box.”

Execution: This outcome represents the ability of the team to accelerate value creation and build, within each member, a sense that they are responsible for the team’s promises.

The leverage points for creating this outcome are two groups of norms: Create Value and Build Support. The norms of Create Value focus the team on high-value adding activity and working with integrity.

The norms of Build Support focus the team on gathering the resources it needs, building supportive relationships outside the team, and creating “tools” to help it carry through on its intentions.

Transparency: This represents the team’s ability to obtain and “radiate” information and create a shared understanding. Accurate, shared information is critical to generating the other three outcomes. Operating without Transparency is like driving in thick fog; it is impossible to move fast and the lack of visibility creates danger.

The leverage points for creating Transparency are two groups of norms: Performance and Perspective. The Performance norms focus the team on generating and sharing information about team and individual performance; this fosters learning. The Perspective norms focus the team on understanding and sharing perspectives, including those of important stakeholders outside the team, e.g., the customer.

When Norms are Weak

When the norms that generate Energy are weak, people do not perceive they are in a “game worth playing.” They are not attracted by a compelling purpose and the roles they inhabit do not give them energy, in fact, they often drain energy. Relationships are weak and members are not looking out for each other, instead, they may be competing against each other. This creates teams that are disengaged.

When the norms that generate Innovation are weak the team is concerned with avoiding mistakes and failures. When they are challenged, they often play the victim; they get lost in discussions about how they are being derailed by forces beyond their control. When they don’t have all the information they need to make a decision, instead of taking action, they get caught in analysis paralysis. This type of team has a mood of Apprehension as they live in fear of making a wrong move. They have not generated the safety for learning and trying new things that might fail.

When the norms that generate Execution are weak the team is not able to effectively get past obstacles in their way. These teams do not proactively address challenges that inhibit their progress, e.g., they don’t solicit external support or create processes and “tools” that help them follow through on their intentions. People make promises but there is a low level of trust that these promises will be fulfilled.

As a result, members do not feel safe granting autonomy to teammates. The team becomes frustrated because they are not able to convert their energy and ideas into results.

When the norms that generate Transparency are weak, everything slows down. These become fearful teams; people feel they need to be guarded and protect themselves. They carefully censor what they say and the information they divulge; it is like walking on eggshells.

Becoming Inspired

To move from average to Inspired, teams engage in discussions and create agreements (norms) known to create the outcomes of Energy, Innovation, Execution, and Transparency. As the team develops these, the emotions move to being Committed, Excited, Empowered, and Authentic.

To assess whether your teams are average or Inspired — and identify where you need to make improvements — take the Inspired Teams assessment right now and take an intentional approach to continuous improvement.