Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

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...

  “Great teams can sometimes feel like magic. So much so that it can be hard to pin down why they work so well. But such dynamics are explainable—and replicable. And at their heart is emotional intelligence ,” explains Vanessa Urch Druskat , author of the new book, The Emotionally Intelligent Team .   “Team Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a group culture created by a set of norms that build a productive social and emotional environment that leads to cooperative interactions, collaborative work processes, and hastens effective performance,” says Druskat.   Drawing from her social and organizational psychologist and professor experience, Druskat combines thirty years of research and team development to present a model for building and leading emotionally intelligent teams. She offers practical advice on how to build a team where members:   Build community through routines that motivate teamwork : Helping one another succeed through understanding, caring, and feedback—fe...

Why do some teams succeed while others stumble?   Because hiring, developing and engaging talent requires careful decisions that are too easy to get wrong without data. In   The Science of Dream Teams: How Talent Optimization Can Drive Engagement, Productivity, and Happiness , author   Mike Zani   introduces the science of “ talent optimization ,” a new discipline that’s a far more reliable way to manage your employees than your gut instincts.  “ Proper talent optimization lifts morale, builds teams, and turbocharges productivity ,” explains Zani.  With simple steps, Zani (a former US Olympic sailing team coach) shows how companies of any size can collect and analyze voluntary data about their employees to purposefully align a company’s business and talent strategies.  The book explores how CEOs and management teams can collect and use data to: Build effective teams of highly sought-after professionals while optimizing costs. Create a company culture b...