Centered Around a Unifying Purpose

Four Dynamics of Highly Effective Teams

Dynamic #1: Centered around a unifying purpose

During the past seventeen months and in large part because of the challenges that COVID-19 has brought to the workplace, teams have become more important than ever in determining the success of organizations. Being a part of a highly effective team has a huge impact on the success of your company as well as on your individual progress as a leader. 

Every work team, just like every individual, is different. Yet, there are four important dynamics to understand that can impact your team’s ability to thrive. In this next series of blogs, we will be taking a deep dive into these four dynamics. Building an effective team can be elusive, your attention to these dynamics can help set your team apart. Highly effective teams are:

• Centered around a unifying purpose
• Connected through relationship
• Agreed & Accountable on desired outcomes
• Aligned on when & how to get there

The above chart also represents how the process approach can impact the work of your team!

Dynamic #1: Centered around a unifying purpose

About nine months ago, I began working with a president and his leadership team. The purpose of our time together was to begin designing a transformation process that would assist the organization in adapting to its changing business environment and the new realities the company was facing. (Not an uncommon thing to be working on these days.)

A few weeks into our work together, I began sensing that something was a little off. Team members seemed a little uncomfortable speaking into the conversation the president was wanting to have, some team members were giving short answers to rather complex questions, and others weren’t really engaging in the conversation at all. All of this seemed odd and not in keeping with what you would expect from a leadership team.

So, I decided to take a step back and pose a rather direct question, “Hey out of curiosity, could you write  down on a piece of paper the purpose of this team?” Everyone took a few minutes to write their answer down and when people seemed finished, I asked them to hand the paper to their neighbor and read what was handed to them. 

While their answers made sense given their individual roles, some answers were very different from each other, even at cross purposes. We had stumbled upon an important discovery…the members of the leadership team were in the room because they were asked to be there, but beyond that they had different purposes and desired outcomes. 

Just like an organization’s mission statement focuses the entire organization on why it exists, it is essential that your team know its purpose. One easy way to get at this conversation is to create a team charter. Team charters ask and answer several key questions about your team.

Successful team charters start with developing the purpose of the team. When a team is centered around a unifying purpose, members begin to see themselves as a part of something larger than themselves. When people begin to see themselves within a larger context, their ownership of that context and their individual role in achieving it begins to develop. 

If you would like to talk about how to help your team thrive, please feel free to schedule a high-value 30-minute discovery call with me. I'd be honored to listen.

As always, please feel free to call me at 616.516.9870 or email me at lons@designgroupintl.com.

Walking alongside you,

Lon L. Swartzentruber
CEO, Design Group International
Senior Design Partner