Human beings are social animals. You’ve likely had to rely on those around you many times in your life to achieve a desired outcome: a winning score, a successful project, a savvy business strategy. Now recall the best, brightest example of such a team you’ve experienced. What made it so? What qualities were in place for you to hold it in such high esteem? Cool outfits? Attractive people? Popping soundtrack? Sweet! Sounds like fun.
I’m guessing the reality is closer to open lines of communication, a common understanding of what success looks like, and mutual support and appreciation. Closer to reality? I thought so. I do like a good soundtrack, though!
High-performing teams, like highly successful individuals, need to be nurtured and developed over time; they don’t spring to life overnight.
Bruce Tuckman taught us years ago, that groups develop in stages:
1. We come together and enrich relationships (Forming)
2. Our individualities create some tension (Storming)
3. We learn from each other and develop cohesive practices to tackle common goals (Norming)
4. We start to click as a cohesive group and produce outstanding results (Performing)
This process isn’t linear
We experience false starts, get curious, dig in, and try again until we start to flow.
Some teams muddle through and experience the toxicity that, unfortunately, often results. At Fierce, we invest in people and groups every day to help them navigate the natural tension that is part of forming high-performing teams. Communication – conversation, which determines what will happen in every organization and requires us to be with each other, fiercely focused on our mutual future – is at the very foundation of this work.
We inform individuals of the power of enriching relationships (Forming), tackling tough challenges (Storming), and interrogating reality and provoking their learning (Norming) along the way to becoming high-performing teams.
Over the course of our 20+ year history of working with clients in a wide array of industries, we have leveraged our Fierce resources to empower the people who make organizations – large and small – thrive. We firmly believe that while no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship, or a life – any single conversation can. It’s in our DNA, and we want to share those genes with you
Reach out to learn more today!
