For the last five years, the Rise team has had the good fortune and opportunity to apply Garry Peterson’s vast experience in management and operations to our own business as well as the businesses of our clients.
He knows how to build great teams because he’s built a ton of them, from his work with big-name brands like Marriott Hotels and General Motors to the construction of his own companies. In this four-part blog series, Garry has identified the four elements that are common to the best teams he’s seen.
Part 1: Are your Team Members in the Right Seats?
Combining nearly 40 years of business experience with the teachings, tools, and methods of several highly respected consultants, coaches, and colleagues, I believe that every high performance team has four key elements that can be achieved by asking the following questions:
- Are your team members in the right seats?
- Does your team possess exceptional problem solving skills?
- Does your team thrive on accountability, leadership, and decision-making?
- Does your team pride itself on trust and respect?
In Jim Collins’ benchmark book, Good to Great, he writes that great companies do not determine “where” to drive their bus and then get people to take it there, they first get the right people on the bus and then figure out where to drive it.
So, if your team is not made up of individuals who are in the right seat, you will be frustrated, they will be frustrated, and, as a result, you will never be able to completely reach your potential. You will probably also find that roles and responsibilities will not be clear, work will not get done, and/or important tasks simply will not get accomplished. Without a doubt, the people part of the teamwork puzzle is to have right people in the right seats.
Right Person = he or she has the attitude, qualities, and core values demanded by the company’s culture.
Right Seat = he or she has the aptitude, skills, and experience to perform the job and grow as needed.
In order for someone to be in the right seat, he or she must fit in with the team, understand what is required, want the position and its responsibilities, and have the capability to do the job. Unless your team members can align with each of these four requirements, you will not build a high performance team that is capable of achieving great things!
Do Your Team Members:
Fit in?
- Do the members of the team assimilate well with and complement each other?
- Do they possess the core values that describe the company’s culture?
- Does the team have fun working and achieving goals for each other and the business?
Understand what is required of them?
- Do team members have that “aha moment” when they do the job required?
- Do they understand the big picture as well as the details of the position?
- If someone does not fully “get it,” he or she just needs to be in a different seat.
Want it?
- Does that team member genuinely want to do his or her job, now and in the future?
- Does he or she get up every morning wanting to do it?
- You cannot motivate people to do what they don’t want to do; they must want to do it.
Have the capacity to perform?
- Does each team member have the mental, physical, and emotional capacity to do the job?
- Does he or she have the experience and/or skills required to do the job?
- In today’s new normal business climate, can team members wear several hats?
FIRST WHO…THEN WHAT!
Be on the look out for the other three parts to this series soon. In the mean time, if you’d like to learn more about Garry’s services, give us a call and we’d be delighted to put you in contact with him.
