Finding Focus: Characteristic Four of Healthy Team
Dr. David Rafeedie
Note: This is the fourth article in a series on the “Characteristics of a Healthy Team:
Healthy teams focus on the task they are called on to achieve. They know what the win is and work hard to get there. Clarity is a hallmark of a healthy team. https://davidthecoach.com/blog-1/2017/11/14/characteristics-of-a-healthy-team
Jennifer was busy getting set up for the team meeting. As the team leader, it was her responsibility to ensure everything needed for that meeting was in place. That was the easy part! She was stressed. In fact, she stressed before every meeting. The logistics were the easy part. Moving the team to accomplish its task was the hard part. She had good people. She had all the resources she needed. But they didn’t seem to be moving very fast. “It’s not that we aren’t making progress,” she said quietly to herself. Still; she was concerned. There was a quiet dissatisfaction after team meetings. She thought back to why the team existed.
The team had been created to help identify weaknesses in some of the strategic systems within the organization. While the organization was doing well, it was a stuttering kind of growth. “Yes, stuttering was the right word.” She had used that word in the first meeting, and it had caught on. Something was holding back the organization from moving forward consistently. They were positioned to run, yet they were crawling. It was as if they were taking two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes it was just the opposite, one step forward and two steps back. The CEO chose Jennifer, one of his executive team members, to recruit and lead the systems exploration team.
Then Jennifer had an epiphany! Her team was behaving like the organization. Her team was stuttering. Was it the culture? Was it something else? Something needed to change, and it needed to start with her and her team.
One of the biggest barriers to effectiveness is a lack of focus. The end goal gets lost in the accomplishment of daily tasks, regularly scheduled meetings, “firefighting,” and a myriad of unscheduled items that come up during the week.
But healthy teams stay focused on the end goal.
Focus is as important to a healthy team as it is in photography. If you have an SLR camera, you must adjust the lens to you have a clear picture. Otherwise, the picture is fuzzy, and you can’t see the subject of the photo clearly. Even if you use your phone to take pictures, you must wait for the lens to focus before taking a picture.
The same is principle is true for teams and organizations. If you don’t have focus, the end goal will be fuzzy. You won’t see it clearly, and therefore your action steps or goals to get there will lack clarity. The biggest task of the team leader is keeping the team focused and working at performance levels. That task would apply to every team at every level of the organization. It is wise to regularly remind the team of the answers to these questions: Why is the team in place? What is the end goal—the win? How did we decide to get there? Clarity in these questions is critical. But flexibility on the how is important too. Hold methods loosely.
Here are four practical action steps to help you and your team find and keep focus:
Clarity: keep it simple. Have the win down to a memorable statement. Keep the purpose in the forefront—you can’t over-communicate clarity. Keeping clarity on the win is essential for focus. Talk about it—start your meeting with it. Have the win written on a card so the team can keep it at their desks.
Do team building exercises relating to the end goal—you don’t have to spend a lot of time. There are a lot of good resources out there or create your own.
Have clear metrics and milestones. It is important to know what the win looks like and that you are making progress. Assess and evaluate progress regularly. Celebrate hitting those milestones!
Don’t forget the “F” word—fun! Morale is an important, and sometimes overlooked necessity for a healthy team. When people enjoy coming to work and enjoy their colleagues, a lot more gets done well. Peer accountability is much more effective in a fun atmosphere.
Here are several focus killers to avoid.
Lack of metrics and milestones. You must be able to track and measure progress toward the end goal. These metrics and milestones should be “built-in” during the planning.
Lack of strategic planning. You will get to where you plan to go. Take the time to plan well. Sometimes it is important to slow down to speed up.
Fatigue. If you are weary, you will find it very difficult to focus. Eat well, take breaks to walk or do some form of exercise, and get enough sleep.
What do you think? Start the conversation.
A coach can be a game changer. Working with you and your team, I can help you grow in your focus, alignment, and effectiveness. If you are reading this on social media, check out my website www.davidthecoach.com for more information on leadership, teams, and other success patterns. Click on the “contact me” button if you want to have a conversation. I would love to talk with you.