Effective teams are key to the success of any organization. Most work in organizations is done in teams and understanding what makes them truly effective is key to designing and implementing effective teams and unlocking their full potential.
In this blog post, I explore three essential factors that contribute to the success of teams: a shared meaningful purpose, a team learner mindset, and psychological safety.
- A shared, meaningful purpose: There are “teams” and there are “real teams”. Real teams begin with a clear, shared and meaningful purpose and well-defined goals. A shared understanding of the what the team has been formed to do provides direction to the team, aligns individual efforts, and fosters a sense of collective responsibility. Teams that define and collectively embrace a compelling vision and establish challenging yet achievable goals tend to outperform teams without this guidance.
- A team learner mindset: Effective teams are continuously learning and adapting their practices based on what they learn. When a team has a learner mindset, it finds opportunities to test and build abilities, and consistently reviews goals, plans, and processes. Effective teams support both team and individual development and performance.
- Psychological safety: Psychological safety, as expressed by trust and respect within the team allow for safe experimentation, learning and development. Effective teams provide the environment for innovation, making members feels comfortable taking risks and speaking up.
Research provides evidence-based insights into the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of teams. Three necessary conditions include a shared, meaningful purpose, a learner mindset and psychological safety. While team coaching is effective in supporting properly designed teams, it’s important to look at team design as a first step when looking to improve team effectiveness.
