How To Build An Extreme Team

Extreme Teams is a fascinating book by Robert Bruce Shaw, where he takes you inside top companies and examines not just great teams (your more “conventional” teams), but extreme teams.

According to Shaw, extreme teams:

View work as a calling—even an obsession.
Value members’ cultural fit and ability to collectively produce results.
Pursue a limited set of vital priorities—less is more.
Strive to create a culture that is at once both hard and soft – simultaneously tough in driving for measurable results on a few highly visible targets and supportive of individuals to create an environment of collaboration, trust, and loyalty.
Value conflict among team members—recognizing the benefit of being uncomfortable.

Companies with extreme teams will go to great lengths to ensure that their extreme teams are well equipped to address not only the challenges of today, but also the challenges of the future. The central questions to ask, therefore, are:

What is it your team will be accomplishing six months from now?
What specific results do you want/need to see?
How is that different from what your team is doing today?
What is needed to make these results happen?

One of my favorite takeaways from the book includes these suggestions for hiring:

Most firms hire based on a job candidate’s resume—assessing how well his or her skills fit the demands of a specific job. Cutting-edge firms, in contrast, place equal if not greater emphasis on a person’s fit to their culture.

Shaw explains that “cultural fit is important in three areas: each person must embrace the group’s higher purpose, the value it places on results, and the value it places on relationships.” He adds, “the best firms and teams develop robust processes to screen for these traits in the hiring and promotion of their people.”

My other favorite takeaway is about context setting. “Getting everyone to align around a set of priorities begins with context setting,” explains Shaw. “The goal is to ensure that everyone understand the environment in which a company operates, as well as the strategies it will use to be successful in that environment.”

Shaw says that context explains the “why” of a firm’s specific priorities, including the opportunities and threats facing it. This requires clarity on the part of group’s senior management on the business environment in which they operate.

Further, “at the minimum people within a company need to understand the following,” says Shaw:

Why do we exist as a company—what is our reason for being?
How do we make money? What drives our results?
Who are our most important customers?
What products or services do our customers value the most?
Who are our competitors—existing and emerging? What threats do they possess?
How do we measure our success as a company?
What is our plan to win in the marketplace?
What capabilities do we need to be successful?
What values are most important to us?
What behaviors are expected of us as members of the company?

Finally, Shaw shared these important lessons in his book:

An understanding that the discomfort that comes with conflict is necessary and productive. The enemy of high performance is not conflict—it’s complacency.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” --- T. S. Elliott
“You should find someone who has complementary skills to start a company with. You shouldn’t necessarily look for someone successful. Find the right people, not the best people.” – Jack Ma

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me a copy of the book.

Comments

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

Five Essential Principles For Sustaining Growth Through Innovation

Even though many companies strive for innovation, most struggle to achieve meaningful change. The largest reason for this disconnect? Playing it safe. Leaders and organizations want to implement new ideas, but too often they are held back by the fear of failure, even though setbacks are intrinsic to the innovation process. In the new book, No Fear, No Failure , by Lorraine H. Marchand (with John Hanc), readers will learn how to overcome the status quo that stifles creative thinking and how to create a culture that encourages innovation. Marchand provides a framework for sustained growth built on the “ 5 Cs ”: Customer First Culture Collaboration Change Chance She draws on more than 120 interviews with leaders across industries, real-world case studies, and her firsthand experience and shares step-by-step, field-tested strategies, tactics, and tools that practitioners can use to embed creativity within organizational cultures. Marchand is a former Big Tech and Big Pharma ex...

29 People Who Taught Us Life Lessons In Courage, Integrity And Leadership

The 29 profiles you will read in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s new book, Character , are about people who are exceptional exemplars of character. They’re inspirational because they used their abilities at their highest levels to work for causes they believed in. Because of character, they influenced the world for good. The dictionary defines “character” as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, the distinctive nature of something, the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way, strength and originality in a person’s nature, and a person’s good reputation. “But beyond these definitions, we know that character is manifested in leadership, innovation, resilience, change, courage, loyalty, breaking barriers, and more,” explains Robert (Bob), “Character drives the best traits in our society, such as honesty, integrity, leadership, and transparency, and it drives others to exhibit those qualities.” Profiled in the book ar...

How To Be A More Human Leader

“To be most effective in today’s environment, leaders must be human leaders. Human leaders must be able to lead not only with their heads but also with their hearts and souls,” says veteran executive coach Hortense le Gentil , author of the book, The Unlocked Leader: Dare to Free Your Own Voice, Lead with Empathy, and Shine Your Light in the World . She adds, “In addition to being respected, seen, and valued, employees also seek leaders who feel human, not distant and perfect beings with whom they can’t connect.” Additionally, leaders need to put the collective interest before their own and work hard to make other people’s good ideas happen. “And although the book focuses on leadership at work, each of us is a complete individual, not a sum of separate, isolated parts. As such, the process presented in the book applies to all areas of your life,” shares the author. She further explains that becoming a human leader is a journey, not a desti...

Leadership Lessons From Kent Taylor, Founder Of Texas Roadhouse

From cover-to-cover of Made From Scratch you’ll learn the leadership lessons of the late Kent Taylor , founder of the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse. In the new book, Taylor recounts how he built the restaurant chain from the ground up after being rejected more than 80 times as he pitched the idea for the business. His approach to business was often out-of-the-box, however, his business lessons and leadership lessons from the course of his life and career are invaluable. Here are some of my favorite leadership lessons from Kent and his book: The best leaders stay down-to-earth and approachable. In a bottom-up company, the leader learns from frontline people. As soon as you make a profit, find a way to give back. Be willing to laugh at yourself. Become a student of your craft. Positive reinforcement inspires much greater performance than fear ever can. Want to get the respect of your people? Then roll up y...

How To Create More Human Workplaces By Tackling Hidden Patterns

Most organizational change initiatives fail because they treat symptoms, not systems. Real transformation happens when you see and redesign the hidden patterns driving how work actually works. “Hidden Patterns prioritize principles over procedures. Each pattern is a tested, fundamental idea, not a formula,” explains Clay Parker Jones , author of the new book, Hidden Patterns, A Playbook For More Human Workplaces . Based on behavioral science and real-world case studies, the book identifies 75 common organizational problems , the core solutions to each, and connected patterns to link sustainable improvements. “If the examples or templates don’t seem immediately relevant, that’s fine,” shares Jones. “The core principle is what matters. Take the idea, apply it flexibly, and test it out. Make it your own.” “In the book, you’ll find patterns that lay groundwork for healthier, more humane workplaces rather than prescriptive tactics masquerading as guaranteed quick fixes.” J...

Debbie Laskey's Expert Insights On Marketing and Leadership

Debbie Laskey is one of my go-to experts when I seek advice about a number of business topics, including marketing, social media, and nonprofit marketing and leadership. So, it's my privilege to share today some of Debbie's insights on all these topics. However, before you read the answers to my questions to Debbie, we'll set the stage with her background: Debbie has an MBA Degree and 17 years of marketing experience in the high-tech industry, Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, insurance industry, and nonprofit sector. She’s created and implemented successful marketing and branding initiatives for nonprofits including the Foundation for the Junior Blind, Exceptional Children’s Foundation, League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, and Brides for Good; and in the B2B financial sector for an insurance company and CPA firm. Currently, she works with the Nonprofit Communications and Media Network and Special Olympics Southern California. ...

How To Achieve Real Optimism Even When Life Is Hard

“Optimism is not about believing that everything will turn out the way you want it; that everything will go according to plan, or that positive thinking about the future can stave off disaster. It’s about accepting that life is hard—sometimes really hard—but it always has something to teach us,” explains Dr. Deepika Chopra , author of the new book, The Power Of Real Optimism: A Practical, Science Based Guide To Staying Resilient, Curious, And Open Even When Lie Is Hard . She adds, “If we can stay open to those lessons, we will survive.” Why should we strive to become more optimistic? “Because, simply put, optimism improves our mental and physical health and makes us more able to face whatever life has in store while staying committed to our goals and values,” shares Dr. Chopra. In this fresh, science-backed debut, professional psychologist and media expert Dr. Chopra shows us how to build the kind of optimism that can actually withstand real life. The book offe...

Best Reasons For Doing Employee Exit Interviews

Don't be the guy in the picture when an employee leaves your company. Instead, conduct exit interviews and surveys. Leigh Branham explains in his book, The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave , what the most favorable conditions are for conducting the interviews and surveys. And, if you need convincing to read the book, take a look at these 11 best reasons for listening and gathering the data when an employee leaves : Bringing any "push-factor" root-cause reasons for leaving to the surface. Alerting the organization to specific issues to be addressed. Giving the employee a chance to vent and gain a sense of closure. Giving the employee the opportunity to provide information that may help colleagues left behind. Providing information about competitors and their practices. Comparing information given with the results of past surveys and employee data. Detecting patterns and changes by year or by quarter. Obtaining information to help improve recruiting. Possibly heading off ...

A Good Story Contains These Seven Elements

According to Kristi Hedges , author of the book, The Power of Presence , a good story includes these seven elements: Has a clear moral or purpose Has a personal connection to the storyteller and/or the audience Includes common reference points the audience can understand Involves detailed characters and imagery Reveals conflict, vulnerability, or achievement others can relate to Has pacing (a beginning, ending, and a segue back to the topic) Serves to strategically underscore your intention (it's not randomly told)

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog