DREAM TEAMS

All organizations have problems they need to resolve. Many leaders feel stuck managing people issues. Rather than driving results, they spent time wrestling with conflict and diverse personalities. Meanwhile, performance is poor, the team is dysfunctional, and the strategy is at risk.

Great achievements are almost always the work of great teams. But most leaders rely on old ideas and practices about teams developed by companies that have lost their edge. Times change and so must our teams. Those who cling to outdated views of teamwork and team building will be left behind. So, what do you need to do to create a team that can successfully face the challenges of today’s world?

One example of exceptional teams is Whole Foods, as described by Robert Bruce Shaw in his book “Extreme Teams”: Whole Foods is a purpose-driven company that takes exceptionally good care of its people. Three guiding principles underlie the team environment at Whole Foods. First, the company believes that people are by nature social beings who feel most comfortable when they are part of a small group. Everyone in the company belongs to a team. Teams, when designed and staffed properly, also maximize what people can contribute to the success of a business. A second management principle shapes how teams operate at Whole Foods. The company believes teams function best when they embrace a set of companywide practices. Teams at Whole Foods have a great deal of autonomy to make decisions that benefit customers, team members and the company. A third guiding principle at Whole Foods is a belief in the benefits of being open and transparent as a company. The goal is to create an open environment where information about its strategies and operations is available to all employees. The firm believes that creating a high-trust culture requires sharing information that is concealed in most firms and working with people to ensure that they understand the implications.

In 2019, The Predictive Index sought to discover the types of teams that existed among client organizations through a large-scale empirical study. Using PI Behavioral Assessment

(BA) results from 125,000+ employees across 20,000+ teams, they found evidence for nine distinct Team Types based on the behavioral make-up of their members.

If we map Whole Foods’s team configuration with PI’s team configuration study results, the Whole Foods example most likely falls under a “Cultivating Team”. A Cultivating Team is all about cooperation and loyalty to one another. Decisions are made as a group; the consensus is respected, and team members bring each other in on mutually interesting activities. Conflict is generally avoided, but when it occurs, it is addressed in a constructive manner and is used as a relationship-building tool.

You may start wondering why we have spent time describing top strategic priorities, behavioral assessments, and team types. It is all about aligning business strategies with talent strategies to deliver business results. The power of designing dream teams using a talent optimization platform can help us answer the following questions:

• How can we leverage our team’s natural strengths?

• Where are our gaps when it comes to achieving our objectives?

• What does each team member bring to the table with respect to these strengths and gaps?

Do you want to learn more about how to design dream teams and gain competitive advantage? Contact AlliancesHub to request a complimentary C-Suite 1:1 Talent Strategy Session.