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Leading Teams

Optimal Team Performance

Building Authentic Teams
Teamwork typically dominates much of the work that occurs in organisations. The expectations to attend meetings and collaborate with key stakeholders, can consume about 80% of our working day. Since we spend so much of our time working in groups, then developing teams is vital. We need to know how to improve team dynamics and team performance.

There are many challenges to working in teams. The key theme intertwined across all of these challenges is our ability to connect with others and the connect with the work environment.

Teams fail when connections fail.

About Teaching

Skills

Humans are wired for connection.

  • Individuals crave the feeling of belonging.
  • Individuals aspire to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
  • Individuals will give more when they feel appreciated.
  • Individuals will thrive and flourish when the environment they work in is one that cultivates growth, happiness and authenticity.

Every company (hopefully) wants to tap into the full potential of every employee. How do we do that?

Give the team members authority and autonomy – provide the people in your teams with authority and autonomy to make decisions. Trust them. They are in the organisation for a reason. They have skills and abilities to offer. Allowing teams to make decisions creates engagement and a strong connection to the project will enhance commitment and loyalty.

Encourage open conversations in team meetings – discuss options, ask ‘what-if?’. Facilitate a range of viewpoints (group think is never helpful), gain input from employees across all levels. LISTEN – don’t’ just keep talking! Open conversations are imperative to innovation, creativity and problem solving.

Work to resolve issues with immediacy – address differences of opinion, seek diversity, seek difference. Not every employee will agree with each other and that is a good thing. Foster effective collaboration and resolution of differences. If disagreement is left long-term it will impede team performance.

Model Authentic Leadership – each team member must take responsibility for their own actions and work towards a way forward that benefits the team performance. When this is modelled by the ‘lead’ then this will create a ripple effect of respect and trust across the team.

Develop Trust across all levels – can be described as having the confidence in someone to follow through with reliability and certainty, honesty and truth. Trust is a core ingredient that is often missing between team members, or across organisational hierarchy. This will create insidious combustion of people, talent, energy and productivity.

Promote personal and professional development – Find creative ways to support this – time to complete online learning in work time, actively identifying specific training relevant to people’s strengths. Consider all aspects of personal development as well.  When we are a confident, resilient person, we will transfer these skills to our work.

Be transparent and keep people up to date with info – inform every one of updates, happenings and expectations. No hidden agendas, not keep people in the dark and all for one and one for all. No power play of sharing only ‘some’ info.

If you are serious about releasing YOUR optimal potential, you need to focus on developing the team around you. To build strong connections, be open and honest with each other, and step into your Authentic Self – then you will rock your workplace with Authenticity!

Trusted by

I really enjoyed the course both the online component and the 3-day face-to-face workshop.

“The workshop was just a lot more interactive and there were some good practical exercises that I enjoyed. For example I took away lots of tips on exercises including stillness and active mindfulness – that will help me to implement breaks in my very busy life. I think that’s really important according to what I have been taught to prepare myself for that peak performance state. I thought it only applied to sports but in fact for myself to really think clearly and present the version of myself to the team. I really need to be in that state.”

Dr. Jun Yang, MBBS FRACP PhD

Dr. Jun Yang, MBBS FRACP PhD

Research Scientist, Monash Health & Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Thanks for training me to become a confident speaker.

“It has been one of the most valuable knowledge and skills gained through my PhD candidature. I enjoy applying the concepts learned, such as mindfulness practices into academic presentations or all aspects of my life.”

Dr Win Wah PhD

Dr Win Wah PhD

Research Fellow, Monash University
The importance of being in action, not letting resistance and hesitations get in the way.

“It’s given me a lot of tools and information that I can research more and new ways to think and how I can put things into action. Knowing that I have the ability, the resources, and the inner wisdom to do these things with courage, is great. The importance of being in action, not letting resistance and hesitations get in the way, trusting my own gut and my wisdom, the importance of affirmation has been really reinforced for me. Authentic Leadership is not about being a leader as the official title but leading your own life.”

Jen Haddon

Jen Haddon

Occupational Therapist, MidCentral Health