Nashville HR

An article EVERY LEADER should read! In the course of my 20-year career leading Operations and Human Resources for corporations, privately owned practices, and nonprofits, I've worked with a number of different CEOs, Executive Directors, and Business Owners. I have learned a lot from them. So I know from experience that this Harvard Business Review article about the kind of space a good leader must create for a high performing team to function well is ON POINT. Organizational Psychologist Dr. David Burkus says that research shows that leaders of high performing teams bring these 3️⃣ elements to the team: (1) COMMON UNDERSTANDING High performing teams share a common understanding about each person's expertise, what each person's role is, and where the lanes of responsibilities are drawn. This clarity comes (or doesn't come) from the LEADER of the team. It's on the leader to clarify the lanes of responsibility, and to make it clear where the subject matter expertise lies for each major initiative of the team. Otherwise team members feel like they are banging around in a rock tumbler, banging against each other constantly, and feel an unspoken expectation to make their case for major decisions even in areas where they have no specialized skill or experience. (2) PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY High performing teams are assured that when they speak up with questions or concerns, when they disagree with each other, when they make mistakes, and when they take interpersonal risks, it is safe to do so. This safety comes (or doesn't come) from the LEADER of the team. It's on the leader to cultivate an atmosphere that encourages diverse perspectives and minimizes rather than amplifies failures. It's on the leader to treat team members equitably by providing them with as much psychological safety as the leader themself has because of their position. (3) PROSOCIAL PURPOSE High performing teams know they're making a meaningful contribution to the work and producing work that positively impacts others. Employees want to know who their work is serving. This is why, at the last organization where I worked, it was so great that our leader led us in a lot of good story telling. We regularly shared stories about each other's work and how it had positively impacted others. When leaders start a meeting with a specific story about how someone on the team assisted another person or group, it motivates the entire team to engage in helpful actions. What is a quality YOU'VE seen in leaders of high performing teams? #workplaceculture #orgculture #employeeexperience