Who’s In Your Corner?

My dad remembers World War II and being 10 years old.  He longed to enlist as a soldier, but being too young, he remained stateside.  The voices of Roosevelt and Churchill sounded over the old radio while he did his part at home.

As soldiers fought overseas, Dad and his family, as well as thousands of other families here in the United States, sacrificed food, gas, clothing, and more.  Women, men, and school-aged children would also “knit their bit,” knitting socks, mufflers, caps, and mittens for the soldiers at war.  The stories of community banding together to do what they could are heart-warming.

It took a dedicated team to win.

Who’s in your corner?  Whether you are an executive or a business owner, a leader of a movement or in another decision-making role, team efforts can make or break your effort.

Here are five commitments that winning teams must have. 

As leader, you will want to ask yourself the questions behind each commitment, and make changes, as necessary:

1.    Meaningful shared purpose.  It is no longer enough to purpose for – you, as a leader, must purpose with.  Team members are active participants in your success.  Is your team 100% excited about your shared purpose?  If not, what do you need to do in order to reconcile this?

2.    Mutual trust and commitment.  Your team members want to know if they can trust you and the others to have their backs in order to feel rapport and perform well. Do you feel the team enjoys a mutual trust and commitment to each other?  How trustworthy are you?  How committed are you to the success of each of the individuals on the team? 

3.    Clear goals and roles.  Do team members know what success looks like, and what work needs to be accomplished in order to achieve goals?  Have you asked them lately?  What might you need to clarify or change?

4.    Effective communication and collaboration.  Poor communication means little or no collaboration.  Try to reach goals with that scenario!  Does your team enjoy a high level of communication and collaboration – or are there unspoken conversations and tensions?  What needs to happen in order to rectify this? 

5.    Personal leadership. Leadership is not a position – it is an attitude.  Winning teams are filled with great leaders.  Are all members of your team rising to their personal leadership potential?  If not, what is needed?  What can you offer to support this growth?

Do you have a winning team?  Who’s in your corner?