Setting a Strong Team Foundation
SUMMARY
Do you find it challenging as a leader to get your team to work together and to maintain great relationships with them all individually as well as collectively? I know this can definitely be a significant challenge as it was likely the biggest one I faced in my corporate career. So, stick with me, as this week we're going to build a foundation for creating great relationships that are mutually beneficial and help both you and your team achieve what you want.
Hi, this is Grant Herbert, leadership and sustainable performance coach, and today I want to continue our conversation on the 9 Crucial Shifts in relationships by helping you set a strong team foundation.
This starts with understanding these four areas and then reconciling within yourself how you might approach things differently. From there, you can share this information with your team and work together to set these foundations. It's important to understand why these principles matter to each individual, how they benefit them, and how they enhance the team as a whole.
I call these the four pillars of teamwork.
The first pillar collaboration.
The second pillar is communication.
The third pillar is conflict.
The fourth pillar is how they navigate change.
There you have it—four key pillars that underpin and provide a strong foundation for developing strong relationships and effective teamwork within your organisation. As I mentioned, it starts with YOU. Reflect on these pillars yourself, and then work on fostering them within your team. Building strong relationships, both individually and collectively within your team, will leave you with more energy at the end of each day to enjoy being the person you want to be in every area of your life. You will also experience fewer challenges and find greater satisfaction in your role as a leader.
Well, that's it from me for this week. Join me again next week as we continue this conversation on building relationships by helping you become a masterful communicator. I'll see you then.
TRANSCRIPT
Do you find it challenging as a leader to get your team to work together and to maintain great relationships with them all individually as well as collectively?
I know this can definitely be a significant challenge as it was likely the biggest one I faced in my corporate career. So, stick with me, as this week we're going to build a foundation for creating great relationships that are mutually beneficial and help both you and your team achieve what you want.
Hi, this is Grant Herbert, leadership and sustainable performance coach, and today I want to continue our conversation on the 9 Crucial Shifts in relationships by helping you set a strong team foundation.
Last week, we discussed moving from conflict to collaboration when working with others. We agreed that even in the age of AI, human-to-human relationships remain the most critical aspect of effective leadership. The ability to work well with others is vital for you to thrive and avoid burnout and stress. It’s great for you, your team, and the organisation as a whole.
This week, I’d like to give you four key foundational principles for building a great team that works well together, helping you understand who you need to be as the leader of that team.
We've all heard the saying, "There's no 'I' in a team," which emphasises that the team is greater than the individuals within it. However, while I understand what that saying is all about, the reality is that there are many “I’s” in a team. There are individuals who are all different—each with their own identity issues, challenges, perspectives, and agendas. These individual elements must come together for the team to do what it needs to do. So, whilst the sentiment around 'there's no I in team' implies that the team is bigger than the individuals involved, we need to understand that it’s both. It’s not a dichotomy. It’s not either the ‘I’ or the team—it’s both together. So, what I want to look at today are these four foundational areas that you, as the leader, need to consider, communicate, and foster growth around within your team.
The first person in your team you need to work on is YOU.
This starts with understanding these four areas and then reconciling within yourself how you might approach things differently. From there, you can share this information with your team and work together to set these foundations. It's important to understand why these principles matter to each individual, how they benefit them, and how they enhance the team as a whole.
I call these the four pillars of teamwork, and the first one is collaboration.
Collaboration is where, instead of getting results from yourself alone, people come together and work with others to get the result that they both want. That can be just a couple of people, or it can be the whole team working together. It can be your team working with other teams within the organisation to achieve the objective of the overall organisation. But collaboration needs you to think differently. It's not about, like I was in my corporate career, thinking, 'I'm just going to focus on me and what I need to do, put my head down, tail up, and get that done,' and just turning a blind eye to everybody else. That thinking just created a lot of problems for me and for the others in my team. No, what I'm talking about here is being able to shift the thinking to go, 'Yes, I'm an individual who has these needs, concerns, and ways of doing things. However, a different way of doing it that's going to give a greater result is asking, who else could I work with to achieve that result in a different way?’
Shifting the thinking—if you are a lone wolf like I was—will be the first step. So, collaboration is about how we work together. It’s not about competing with each other; it’s the exact opposite. How could you collaborate on the tasks you’re working on?
The second pillar is communication.
Communication is vital—in fact, effective communication is mutually beneficial communication. I’m talking about two-way communication, ensuring that it truly takes place in a way that everyone understands. It’s about recognising the differences in how people need to be communicated. It’s about the frequency, vulnerability, transparency, and openness of that communication. As I said, it’s not about the leader talking without listening or not allowing anyone else to respond. That’s the industrial-age manager, and we’ve moved past that. It’s about active listening and ensuring that listening takes priority over speaking. So, communication is a key pillar in effective teamwork.
The third area is conflict. Conflict is inevitable, and as I've often said, conflict within a team can actually be a positive force.
It’s not the conflict itself that’s the problem; it’s how the team, both individually and collectively, navigates that conflict. Being able to view conflict in a different light is essential. When conflict arises, it’s a sign that we have people with diverse understandings, skills, and talents. If everyone just agrees all the time, some perspectives aren’t being valued. The key is to focus on how to navigate situations when things aren’t going as planned or when people disagree. This is a foundational aspect of great teamwork. A strong team accepts that not everyone will have the same opinion. They work through conflict effectively and reach a positive resolution. They may not always agree, but they evaluate behaviour in the context of resolving the conflict.
And the fourth area is how they navigate change.
Just like conflict, change is also inevitable—and it’s happening faster. A key foundation of a great team is the ability to work together through change. It’s about recognising that people respond to change in different ways and working together to adapt so that the team can achieve the desired results. It requires a shift in thinking about what change means, as well as the use of skills and strategies to support those who navigate change differently.
There you have it—four key pillars that underpin and provide a strong foundation for developing strong relationships and effective teamwork within your organisation. As I mentioned, it starts with YOU. Reflect on these pillars yourself, and then work on fostering them within your team. Building strong relationships, both individually and collectively within your team, will leave you with more energy at the end of each day to enjoy being the person you want to be in every area of your life. You will also experience fewer challenges and find greater satisfaction in your role as a leader.
Well, that's it from me for this week. Join me again next week as we continue this conversation on building relationships by helping you become a masterful communicator. I'll see you then.
