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Leadership Strategies for Team Development

As leaders, our goal is to cultivate thriving, productive, and successful teams.  While some teams naturally “click” and seamlessly progress through the classic stages of team development - Forming, Storming, and Norming to Performing – this isn’t always the case.  More often, intentional team development and team-building efforts are needed. 

I believe successful team development begins with individual growth.  If team members already possess a strong sense of self-awareness and social awareness, you’re off to a great start.  If not, don’t try to skip this crucial phase.  Instead, integrate “Phase 1” into your onboarding process for new hires and weave it into team-building activities for current members.

Phase 1: Professional Development

1. Self-Awareness:

1. Understand your values.
2. Recognize your strengths and how to leverage them.
3. Identify your weaknesses and how to manage them.
4. Determine what motivates and demotivates you.

2. Social Awareness:

1. Recognize others’ strengths and weaknesses.
2. Understand your interactions with others.
3. Learn to interpret and respect other’s behaviors.

Phase 2: Professional Team Development

3. Behavior & Mindset Patterns

1. Identify shared behaviors and mindsets.
2. Define what effective teamwork looks like – and what it doesn’t.
3. Recognize when individuals perform at their best and how to support them during challenging times.
4. Avoid taking things personally.
5. When something doesn’t make sense, get curious - don’t assume or let negativity take root.

4. Leadership
   1. Clarify and share your vision, mission, purpose, goals, and values.
   2. Be open to expanding your viewpoints, perspectives, and paradigms.
   3. Foster a psychologically safe environment where trust and growth thrive.
   4. Build strong teams by understanding your members (leveraging Phase 1 insights).
   5. Identify skill gaps within the team and seek opportunities to bridge them through collaboration, training, or recruiting.
   6. Support team members’ growth by exploring their aspirations and providing tailored development opportunities.

A Worthwhile Investment

The question isn’t “what happens if you invest in this development and team members leave or get promoted?”  The real question is, “what happens if you don’t invest in them – and they stay?” 

Happiness at work stems from aligning your purpose, fostering meaningful connections, and feeling valued in a safe environment that promotes continuous improvement.  As leaders, we have the privilege and responsibility to influence our teams positively and position them for success. 

Remember, you don’t have to tackle this journey alone.  Consider partnering with a coach who can help guide your efforts.