Great teams have great leaders. But great leadership is not a paint-by-numbers experience. There is an art to leading teams. In this post I share an important model that can help team leaders improve their art of leadership.
Archives For Teams
Structure is not "sexy," but it certainly is essential. If you have any doubts just take a look at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building at 2, 717 feet. I don't want to go up 163 stories (one-half mile) unless I know someone built a solid foundation under me. Structure matters! The same is true when it comes to teams.
General George Patton demanded that his soldiers know their mission and be able to state it succinctly. "What is your mission?" he would ask. To Patton, "the definition of mission was the most important piece of information a soldier carried into combat."[1] Great teams, like great soldiers, operate with clarity of mission. In this post I define mission and consider some mission-critical elements every team must address.
Olympic rowing is a strenuous sport. A 2,000 meter race (1.25 miles) is physiologically equivalent to playing back-to-back basketball games.[1] With a gold medal on the line, this is no time being drawing straws to determine who gets to play. We want a real team — not just any eight guys who can hold an oar. High performing teams are real teams. In this post I share seven distinctives that characterize them.[2]
