Welcome to StangerCarlson’s Talent Minute. I’m Carolyn Carlson. In our recent seminar on Evaluating Team Performance a crowd of over 20 Talent and HR leaders firmly agreed that: Most employees don’t consider the work of teams their highest priority and most employees don’t believe their contribution to teams is fairly measured or valued. At a…
Engagement is one of the six core team competencies. When a team is engaged, team members have open group discussions where they can build on each others’ ideas, innovate and create value. They are able leverage rich diversity of thought. This stands in sharp contrast to teams which work in highly structured meetings making presentations…
We spend so much time focusing on individual competencies — leadership competencies, core competencies and job-related competencies — that the concept of team competencies hardly gets considered. Yet, most important work is done by teams, and without the six core team competencies, the team will under perform. Let’s review these competencies, identify the team behaviors…
Lately, I’ve been blogging on ways to improve team performance, including team coaching. This blog piece discusses the actual process of team coaching, as distinguished from preparation, scheduling, sponsorship and measurement, which I have discussed previously. It focuses on the actual coaching actions and conversations that take place during active team coaching. Our team coaching…
We are regularly asked to conduct team building sessions, usually for senior leadership teams, many of which are global. My first response to these requests is generally “what are you trying to accomplish?” Once we get this answer, we are able to develop the right approach for the specific team. Team building can range from…
Team coaching is becoming recognized as the best way to create high performing teams, beginning with the senior leadership team. Well coached teams learn to exhibit real teaming behaviors: ·Group discussion vs. individual presentations ·Collaborative behaviors vs. siloed behaviors ·Open discussions vs. tightly structured format ·Building on ideas vs. reporting on activities ·Growth mindset vs.…
What keeps Millennials engaged and productive? The opportunity to develop capabilities that employers will value in the future. The requirements of this new generation of knowledge workers are clear: develop me or lose me. A recent HBR blog piece, If You’re Not Helping People Develop, You’re Not Management Material, makes this point most persuasively without…
Studies show that companies with effective boards are significantly more successful. A recent HBR blog piece, The Key to a Better Board: Team Dynamics, really brought this home, stating that boards “that are able to function effectively as a team have an 800% greater impact on firm profitability than any one well-qualified board director.” The…
Sometimes reading blogs can be fun. A recent HBR blog piece, Employees Who Feel Love Perform Better, is a great example of this. It talks about how much better employees perform if they feel loved or cared for. And, I must admit, all other things being equal, a loving workplace will make employees happier than…
Recently, I’ve written several blogs about teams, focusing on the steps to creating high performing teams that innovate and drive business results. These blogs have acknowledged the unfortunate disconnect between performance management, as practiced today, and team-based performance. Put simply, most companies measures and incentives drive individual performance and results, thus undermining strong team behaviors…