Setting a Strong Team Foundation

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...

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Grant Herbert (aka The People Builder) describes himself as an ordinary guy, with an outstanding wife and 5 amazing kids, who has a passion to help people escape the performance trap and regain their authenticity in every area of life. He is a VUCA Leadership Mentor, Sustainable Performance Coach, Master Coach Trainer in Social and Emotional Intelligence, and the founder of People Builders.

Visit www.grantherbert.com to find out how you can connect.