Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

"It takes more than encouraging words to get a team thinking beyond the ordinary," explains  Jackie Barretta , author of the book,  Primal Teams . She suggests you must help team members to redefine the purpose of their work with broader and more expansive thinking. Use certain pointed questions to guide a team toward a loftier view of their purpose. Specifically, Barretta recommends you as the leader ask the following purpose-broadening questions to encourage the team to think of providing value beyond the ordinary: What major contributions can our team make to the company's success? What do we do that makes our colleagues and customers happy? What does our work do to give our company a competitive advantage? What do we do that no one else can do? What legacy do we want to leave? What future possibilities excite us? What difference does our work make in the lives of others? Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me a copy of the book.

According to  Ron Ricci  and  Carl Wiese , authors of the book,  The Collaboration Imperative , high-performing teams have the following characteristics: People have solid and deep trust in each other and in the team's purpose--they feel free to express feelings and ideas. Everybody is working toward the same goals. Team members are clear on how to work together and how to accomplish tasks. Everyone understands both team and individual performance goals and knows what is expected. Team members actively diffuse tension and friction in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The team engages in extensive discussion, and everyone gets a chance to contribute--even the introverts. Disagreement is viewed as a good thing and conflicts are managed.  Criticism is constructive and is oriented toward problem solving and removing obstacles. The team makes decisions when there is natural agreement--in the cases where agreement is elusive, a decision is made by t...