In my last blog, I touched on the difference between a team and a community. Given the diversity of us as leaders, there are also differences on how people approach the concept of team.
Some see it through the lens that the sum of the whole is much greater than one on one with each team member. That being said, they will focus on bringing the complete group together.
Others have the “come along side of” style where they become a team member with each individual member of their team. Their tendency will be to meet individually than as a team.
There are of course blind spots with both. With the first style, a leader will focus on the synergy of the team but the team members’ individual needs are lost. The second style, the team will loose synergy when the leader relies on touching down individually with each member and does not bring the group together for “team think”. Recently, I had a senior leader say to me “ I am glad to give my perspective to my President; however, when I hear what another peer has said, which is a different perspective, I wish I had heard this, for it would have influenced me in my response.” By not bringing the team together you can miss these opportunities for your team to build synergy.
High performance teams are lead by leaders that balance the strength in synergy as well as meeting the individual needs of your team members. What is your preferred style? How are you going to incorporate the additional style so that you can build a high performance team?