Keystone Thirteen: The Essentials of Team Performance (Part Two)

The Team Performance Center (TPC) at City Beach has developed an innovative process (based on each of our “Keystone Thirteen” principles) that guides organizations down the path to building and maintaining high-performance teams. This is the second in a series of posts that will explore each of these essential characteristics demonstrated by the most successful organizations

ALIGNMENT OF GOALS

Our first post outlining the Team Performance Center Keystone Thirteen principles dealt with the importance of teams having Unity of Purpose, or a clear sense of a common mission. Similarly, in order to function at a high level, teams must also demonstrate Alignment of Goals. To achieve true alignment, individual team members must first gain a thorough understanding into how their own skills, priorities, and values correspond with those of the overall team.

Someone once said, “A team with a star player is a good team, but a team without one is a great team.” These wise words seem counterintuitive. After all, aren’t the most successful teams the ones with the highest concentrations of talented and skilled individuals? Yet, if you look at many recent professional sports teams, it becomes clear that talent, experience, and skill amongst players are not enough to ensure a team’s success.

How many times have we watched as an enthusiastic franchise signs a blue-chip draftee or free agent, whose talent and athletic prowess promises to catapult the team into the championship circle? These promises often end in disappointment for all involved; the team, the community, and even that “star” player.

Why does this happen? Although everyone may be united with a common purpose and mission (to win the championship), the individual goals and values of the standout player(s) often are not aligned with those of the greater team.

There’s no question that star players aspire to be champions – but they may not be concerned with how they accomplish this in relation to the team’s overall strategy for success, and who from the rest of the team shares in that success. This is not exclusive to professional sports teams…we often see it in the corporate world, as well. Having unity of purpose without alignment of goals and values by all individual team members can put organizations at a much higher risk of costly setbacks or even functional paralysis.

The teams that succeed are most often the ones that bring together the right combination of individuals who have the talents required to do the job (whether it’s hitting a sales goal, conducting an audit, writing a grant proposal or winning a championship), but are also willing to modify any personal objectives that happen to be in direct conflict with the goals of the entire team.

Think of the gold medal winning 1980

U.S.

Olympic men’s ice hockey team. This “Miracle on Ice” team had few “world class” athletes on the roster. In fact, several highly skilled players failed to make the team because they didn’t complement the team concept that Coach Herb Brooks envisioned. Brooks wanted the right combination of talent, determination and character. Just bringing together the most skilled players available would not achieve this goal. Brooks famously instilled the idea in his players that the name on the front of their jerseys meant a whole lot more than the names on the back. In the end, Brooks was right. His diverse group of players gelled as a team and won the gold medal against almost impossible odds.

 

None of this is to suggest that individual members should expect to sacrifice their own aspirations for the sake of their team. In fact, many of the healthiest and most successful of organizations prove that both greater team goals and individual members’ goals can often be met simultaneously. The key point is that there must be alignment between personal and team-wide goals.

Previous: Part One: Unity of Purpose

Next: Part Three: Clear Responsibilities