Building a powerful team doesn’t happen by accident. It takes time, attention and a willingness to feel some discomfort. But the payoff is big. Having a powerful team supports company morale, increases productivity and allows you to serve your customers more effectively.
At Accessa, we work consistently to grow and strengthen Team Accessa, often working with experts outside of our field to guide us. One such expert is Mike Donahue, the business and executive coach behind Newgrange Leadership Transformation. Here, he shares his expertise regarding teamwork by exploring answers to 5 important questions.
- What are three things all effective teams have in common?
These three answers are based on research conducted over the last 100 years:
No. 1. An effective group must have a shared fate or purpose, often called a mission. There is a correlation between a high level of shared fate and high levels of growth, profit, market share and competitive advantage in member companies. A shared fate bonds team members. It’s what motivates them and why they come to work.
No. 2. Members must invest in the group. Like investing money, this implies some level of risk. Investing means you are willing to confront other team members and self-disclose to them — be vulnerable. (When you have a shared fate, investing comes much more easily.)
No. 3. Members demand performance. In other words, they hold each other accountable. If they say by the next meeting or check-in that they have something done, they have to do it. And if they don’t, the team has to call them out. Again, when they are all working toward the same purpose, this is easier to do.
- What is BAMS and why do teams fall into BAMS?
BAMS stands for Basic Assumption Mental State and describes people’s natural instinct to stay “safe.” Building a successful team and company isn’t always comfortable, but as humans we unconsciously conspire to stay safe, free from anxiety or conflict. Anxiety travels through a team, and members will conspire to avoid the real issues and stay safe.
For example, if you’re in a meeting and want to speak up about an issue that’s important but not being addressed, there’s a pull inside of you to just keep quiet. And if someone does speak up, raising the anxiety level in the room, a teammate might respond by cracking a joke to diffuse the situation. And soon the subject is changed from the uncomfortable conversation to the safe conversation.
But at times, you must be courageous and overcome the desire to stay safe. Teams that stay safe can’t grow.
Team leaders have a special responsibility. They can dissuade their teams from falling prey to BAMS because the team won’t go where the leader goes first. When a leader is willing to allow difficult conversations to take place, team members will follow. By defining a BAMS-free reality and taking the risk first, the stock in that leader will go up.
If the leader is emotionally self-aware, they will feel the butterflies in their stomach. They will see their team scrunch down in their chairs and avoid eye contact as they retreat into BAMS. But it’s the leader’s job to call it out! They can create an environment where members feel free to take risks.
- What are the symptoms of a low-functioning team that’s gone off the rails?
When people go into BAMS, they exhibit certain behaviors. They disconnect, move back from the table or group, avoid eye contact and stay quiet. Once you’re aware of BAMS, you can look out for these three common symptoms:
First: Pairing/triangulation — People tend to partner up to seek safety together. For example, if two team members don’t like a teammate, they will talk to each other about it but won’t address the issue with their teammate.
This can happen in families and interpersonal relationships, too. When anxiety reaches a boiling point, they don’t choose to confront their relative or partner. Instead, they avoid elevating their anxiety by confiding in — and complaining to — a friend who can be sympathetic and temporarily reduce their anxiety.
Second: Flee or fight — People might choose to flee an uncomfortable situation. They would prefer to leave a room rather than deal with the issue. Or they might fight, even figuratively. Look at people’s body language. Crossed arms and a tense frown might be signs of a fighter. Their very presence can shut down a room.
Third: Members become dependent — People become childlike in the worst sense. They whine about the idea of confrontation. Why should we have hard conversations? Can’t we all just be happy? I don’t want to be part of that! These childlike teammates are the ones who tend to rescue others when they go into BAMS.
- What is the #1 job of a team leader?
This is another three-part answer:
First, a team leader must be a non-anxious presence. The leader must manage their own emotions and navigate the emotions and relationships within the system. When everybody’s anxiety goes up into BAMS territory, theirs doesn’t. They must be willing to be vulnerable, to self-disclose, to speak up and hold other members accountable. And the team will mirror the leader’s behavior. (Neurons in their brains will follow the leader.)
As Edwin H. Friedman says in A Failure of Nerve, “A leader must separate his or her own emotional being from that of his or her followers while still remaining connected.”
Second, when the team meets, the leader must make them feel secure. The success of the team largely depends on the stability of the ground under the members’ feet. Only when they feel secure will they confront, self-disclose and demand performance.
Third, they must maximize connectedness. Everyone should feel seen, heard and valued.
- What are three things every team leader should remember?
The conversation is the relationship. Susan Scott writes in Fierce Conversations that “the conversation is the relationship.” It’s true in all groups, from a couple to a larger group. If you can’t confront and self-disclose, if the conversation isn’t robust and fierce, then the relationship in that group is weak.
You can measure the quality of the team by the number of gnarly issues they’re willing to take on. This willingness determines the power and effectiveness of the team. Patrick Lencioni, the author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, says the fourth dysfunction is a lack of accountability, emphasizing the need for conflict without making it personal.
The opposite of love is indifference. This bit of wisdom has been attributed to several different people over the years. You can even hear the Lumineers sing about it. “The opposite of love is indifference.” Love means respect and caring for each other. The opposite is indifference. In the workplace, this can manifest itself as being chronically late or disengaged in conversations. Be loving instead.
Only two questions matter: What’s possible? Who cares? For a team, only two questions matter: First, What’s possible? The answer is about defining the team’s shared fate. And second, Who cares? Do you and your teammates care enough about the shared fate or mission? Do you care enough to confront issues and continue confronting them when you’re heading into BAMS territory? Are you willing to self-disclose and take the risk?
How to leverage these answers with my own team
We have good news! Donahue says that all of these skills can be learned. The only way to learn them is to be willing to be uncomfortable — to deal with the BAMS you’re feeling. The more times you’re willing to do the uncomfortable things, the easier it gets.
As Team Accessa serves clients, expands our offerings and locations, and takes risks, we also continue to work to develop a more powerful team. It’s a continual work in progress. Learning creates stomach acid, and sometimes we might want to flee, but we keep going.