What do you think makes a team successful? What separates a high-performing team from an average team or underperforming team?
Research overwhelming states that the number one trait for the most successful teams is psychological safety.
What is psychological safety? “It’s a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes, ” Amy Edmondson.
As a team building expert, I’d recommend having your team take this psychological safety test.
1) If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you
2) Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.
3) People on this team sometimes reject others for being different
4) It is safe to take a risk on this team
5) It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help
6) No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts
7) Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized
Use a 1 to 5 scale: 1 strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 neutral, 4 agree & 5 is strongly agree
Bonus two questions: It’s safe to take a risk on this team…
8) With the person I’m most comfortable with
9) With the person I’m least comfortable with
If your score isn’t a 5 or close to it, I’d recommend working on it. The first place is to build trust (and a high level of it).
You can get my new Cards Against Mundanity playing cards that more than 12,000 employees use to skyrocket trust, engagement, team closeness, and performance. Learn more here.
Jason provides insights and alternative views of coworker relationships. He was generous with his time as he talked with me about his work focused on building deep levels of trust and extraordinary coworker relationships. Jason is an author, TEDx speaker, team building facilitator through the product he has launched, and a leadership consultant. Employees in every role will benefit from listening to this episode and considering how you can apply Jason’s guidance as you strive to build stronger relationships with the people in your life and retain your most valuable employees.
Here’s a pledge every employee has to agree to before starting work at WD-40 (no matter what their level). I really like it as a tool. Any organization can set up something similar and make it apart of the hiring process. I’d give to any prospective hire and tell them it’s a requirement to agree to this before you start your first day.
“I am responsible for taking action, asking questions, getting answers, and making decisions. I won’t wait for someone to tell me. If I need to know, I’m responsible for asking. I have no right to be offended that I didn’t ’get this sooner.’ If I’m doing something others should know about, I’m responsible for telling them.”
I think it sets a particular tone about how people communicate, collaborate and engage. It sets a standard the first day any employee starts to work.
It also does two important things for WD-40:
Sets up learning a priority so employees don’t get stagnant. What worked yesterday and today won’t work tomorrow.
Focused on accountability and taking action. Employees are required to be proactive.
How to Become a Leader on your Sales Team – Outside Sales Talk with Jason Treu
Jason Treu coaches executives, managers and their teams to maximize their leadership potential and operate at peak performance. He’s the best-selling author of Social Wealth, a how-to-guide on, building extraordinary business relationships, which has sold more than 45,000 copies. In this episode, Jason reveals his tips on how to become an extraordinary leader.
About the Guest: Jason Treu is a leadership, culture change, employee engagement, team building, and motivational keynote speaker. He provides coaching, speaking & workshops to develop great leaders and maximize employee engagement.
He had helped thousands of people achieving their most ambitious goals by becoming more self-aware, resilient, creative and confident. He advised leading organizations such as Google, Amazon, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Blue Cross Blue Shield, CareHere, E&Y, Worldwide Express, Gillette, Oracle & SMBs on how to improve leadership.
He was a featured speaker at TEDxWilmington 2017, where he debuted his breakthrough team building game “Cards Against Mundanity”
