Dr. David Rafeedie

If you want to grow a plant, there are a couple of things you must do. First, you need the right plant in the right environment. For example, you wouldn’t want to try growing a magnolia tree in the artic. After determining the environment is correct, you must prepare the soil. After that, plant the tree, water it, weed around it, feed it, and watch it grow and flourish.

Wanting to grow your team into a high-performance team is also a matter of process. High-performance, high-value teams are not born; they are made through thoughtful work and patience.

Gauge the team: Determine where the team is at this point in its life by using an assessment to determine a team’s readiness for team development. For example, do you have a non-team player that must be taken into account? Do you have a new team member or new leader? These kinds of considerations are necessary before moving into team development.

Ready the team: Do what you must do to get the team ready for team development. Teams are not necessarily prepared for team development. The proper assessment will give you a good idea of what needs to be done to prepare the team for the journey of team development. Once you have done that, then you are ready for the next step.

Ontogenesis: I love this word! It is a term I borrowed from biology which means, “the development of an individual organism (the team) or anatomical or behavioral feature from the earliest stage to maturity.” I picked this weird word not just because it describes what we want to accomplish, but it gave me the “O” in the acronym G.R.O.W. Functional and educational.

Win: the win is a high-performing, high-value producing, thriving team whose work is characterized by synergy.

Some television shows or movies show stunts and tell the kids, “Don’t try this at home without adult supervision.” One could say this about team development. The best of teams operate at about a 70% capacity. So team development is something you should assess carefully and get the right kind of help to accomplish. And the size of your team or teams does not matter.

The tip: Never take your team or teams for granted. Teams are the movers of an organization. They will move you in the right direction or stall your progress. When teams improve, production and morale improve, and relationships are enhanced.