Unlocking the power of a team-mindset!

By Fountain Abani, Lead Trainer – Executive & Corporate

The marketplace is rapidly changing – customers are offered more options to choose. Your competitors can almost instantly imitate, reconfigure and revamp their processes to match best practices you found. Beating the competition and speedy delivery of superior services and products to the customers is the only way for organizations to continue being profitable and sustainable.

The solution however is not merely more technology or re-engineering of processes (because the competitor will soon match it). The answer is building a We-Culture – the power of a team-mindset!

What is We-Culture?

People have used this term in the past to mean different things. Chris Ciulla wrote a book titled WeCulture which highlights the importance of a shared core value system within an organization. At Strong Advice however, the term means something else.

We-Culture is a framework that unlocks the ability of a functional team to leverage the strengths of its composite members to optimize performance and drive revenue growth. This framework has at  its core, two powerful contributing components – talents and team dynamics.

According to bestselling author, Patrick Lencioni  in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, “the most powerful and inimitable competitive advantage of any organization is its team.” The uniqueness of a team can never be over emphasized. Seasoned HR personnel or any competent leader understands the disruptive impact of a single alteration to a team could have major negative impact to its overall functionality. Hence, there is a concerted effort to attract and retain highly talented people who can work cohesively together.

We-Culture is about building an organizational culture where true team spirit exists, and individuals are enabled to advance their lives as they work together with others to advance the common purpose of their organization.

How does We-Culture work?

We-Culture works on when a few principles are understood and applied well! They have  the potential of turning any organization from a mediocre to a highly profitable and fully sustainable organization.

Principle #1: High-impact teams build great organizations

Building a high-impact organization requires a highly cohesive team. A team where time is not wasted in unnecessary politics! A team where trust exists, and people are free to leverage each other’s strength and unafraid to ask for help. High-impact teams experience true buy-in and follow through. Collaboration is second nature. Set KPIs are exceeded and competitors are continuously outpaced and outperformed. Superior service and products are consistently and rapidly delivered to customers.

Organizations with teams like this also experience high retention rate and nurture happiness in the workplace. And we all know that happy people are the most creative and productive people. We-Culture building is about eliminating every possible dysfunction of a team. Let us help. Talk to us! We can assist in defining the roles and responsibilities of each team member according to their strengths and abilities.

Principle #2: High-impact individuals ensure a high-impact team

This principle works on two assumptions: the first is that high-impact talents are hard to find but essential to the overall effectiveness of a team. Teamwork takes an emotional toll on members. It can be a “grind” unless members recognize one another for their unique contributions and celebrate together  on meeting milestones. That requires high impact team players!

The second assumption is  that an individual will work wholeheartedly for the success of any goal he or she believes accommodates and appreciates their contributions and interest. A high-impact team member desires to see the organization thrive (if that is not the case, remove that person immediately– a toxic member will sabotage the growth of the organization).

These two assumptions free team members to be open and candid with each other. They draw out every strength that a team member brings and they work together to mitigate their weaknesses. Individuals are also careful to ensure that they are not disrupting or deterring the progress of their organization’s  goals. We-Culture building involves helping individual discover their areas of strength and all even their possible overuse of that strength, which can be a weakness. Remember that a team is as strong as its weakest link. Sir. Ken Robinson said: “what an individual can do alone is no longer as important as what he can do with others,” Ensure your high impact talent is even stronger! Talk to us for help in talent assessment and developing a positive workplace.

Principle #3: High Performing organizations are dependent on high-impact leaders

A high-impact leader is also a member of the team and has all the qualities of a team member with the added qualities of an effective leader. It is the responsibility of the organizational leadership to create and build the organizational culture that will inspire the workforce.  Building the  We-Culture is a positive step towards sustainability! Failing to build a We-Culture organization, may result in having no organization at all to lead or manage. Building a We-Culture is not optional! It is an absolute necessity for the long-term survival of any organization, and it will increasingly become more important.

It is true, in society, that culture in generally has a fine way to perpetuate itself. Still, there needs to be a leader to enforce, model and guide members of that society. In the say same way, We-Culture teams need someone at the to the helm to collaboratively set a vision for the team, energize  the  We-Culture and  oversee the implementation of the vision.

The success of the organization lies on the shoulders of the leader. Talk to us. We can develop leaders by creating and maintaining the We-Culture. In  summary, building a We-Culture workplace must be a goal for every high performing organization. It requires high impact individuals, dynamic teams and a talented We-Culture leader. So, how do you measure your organization? Is it building towards “ We” or is it “I” centered with everyone competing with each other? Is finding talent, designing teams or developing leaders your greatest concern? Talk to us for help in assessing your capacity to harness this matchless competitive advantage.

A Strong Advice staff member will respond promptly to any comments that you leave. We welcome your thoughts!