Team Fundamentals

Get 5-point clarity to align your team on mission, vision, values, strategy and culture.

5-Point Clarity for the Team

Posted: April 21, 2022
Great teams have simple clarity - but it's not easy to get there. Take some time to systematically process these five points with your top leaders, and then pass it on down the line of command.

Talking Points:

  • Mission answers the question, “Why do we exist?” As leaders, we need to be clear about our main job. What is our real goal? Try to articulate it in a sentence or two.
  • Vision answers the question, “Where are we going?” What do you envision for your team this year or three, five, or ten years down the road? Your vision is your picture of a perfect future.
  • Strategy answers the question, “How will we get there?” Strategic objectives are big-ticket items that can be broken down into smaller, actionable items.
  • Values answer the question, “What do we care about?” What are the values that you want to transfer to your team? Your team members won’t know them automatically, so why not tell them?
  • Culture answers the question, “How do we actually do things?” Your culture is about the real-life habits on your team. If a stranger were to observe you, what would he see? 
Discussion:
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Of the five points above, which element is your strongest as a team? Which element is the most undefined?
  3. Who is failing to buy in to your team values? Share the impact of this on the team overall.
  4. Who is failing to buy in to your mission or vision? What do you see behaviorally to prove this?
  5. How do you give feedback to your team?
  6. You measure what matters. How do you currently measure your stated strategic objectives for the team?
  7. How do you celebrate those wins as a team? How can improving in this area help the overall culture of your team?
  8. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

5-Star Leadership Assessment

Posted: February 17, 2022
The greatest leaders are not afraid to assess their own leadership skills. Grade yourself according to these five leadership checkpoints.

Talking Points:

  • Credibility: Do you live out the values of the organization, or do secretly believe they don’t apply to you?
  • Conviction: Do you really buy in to the mission of the organization, or are you just giving it lip service?
  • Clarity: Are you clear on the vision and strategy of your organization, or are you just making it up as you go?
  • Candor: Are you willing to be honest with yourself and others when the mission isn’t being accomplished?
  • Candor: Are you building relationships as you work together, or is your team just a means to an end for you?
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Name a great leader in your life. What makes him or her great?
  3. Answer the questions in the talking points above. Which star is your greatest strength? Which one needs the most work? Explain.
  4. Why is missional clarity important for a leader? What can happen to a team that is unclear on its bottom line?
  5. What are the signs that someone has a deep conviction about the team they are leading? How can you know when they’ve lost that conviction?
  6. Leaders who “fake it” are eventually exposed and deposed. Give an example of a leader who was not authentic. What happened to the leader and/or team?
  7. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

5 Dysfunctions of a Team

Posted: May 23, 2017
A 2-minute summary of Patrick Lencioni's book about why teams fail to work together to get the job done…. and what to do about it.

Talking Points:

  • Trust is the base for a functional team. If your team doesn’t trust each other they won’t be willing to work together to achieve the goals they’ve set. Lack of trust places your team into a cycle of dysfunction.
  • Conflict is essential and can be productive in helping everyone voice an opinion. However, if the conflict in your team isn’t confronted correctly it can lead to dysfunction number three.
  • When your team communication isn’t good it can lead to team member not committing to the decisions that are made. Reaching a consensus as a team isn’t really the end goal. The end goal is to have everyone voice their opinion.
  • Lack of accountability is another way your team can fall apart. If members are defensive and can’t ownership for mistakes, it leads to further dysfunction.
  • You need to have clarity on specific goals as a team. Make sure performance reports of team members are in line with the strategic objectives of your team.
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Which of these five dysfunctions do you most commonly see within your team? How have those things impacted the team?
  3. Why is trust so important to a healthy functioning team? What happens when people get defensive about their mistakes? What happens when people are willing to own their mistakes?
  4. List some specific and practical ways you can combat these five dysfunctions.
  5. What are some other things, that aren’t on this list, that you have observed in your team that have had a negative effect on team performance? Other things that have had a positive effect?
  6. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

Adapted form Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team