Creating High Performing Teams - 10 Essential Team Qualities

My most rewarding work moments came when I was part of a successful team, I'm always looking for opportunities to be part of another great team, if you've not had that feeling you are missing out, it’s a euphoric feeling along with a deep sense of accomplishment – one you can only get from pulling together and working as a team.

I hear the Team word used a lot but in many cases it’s not backed up by actions, it's important to be able to realize when there is a team poised for success rather than a faux team built off buzzwords.

Those who show up for team events and do not play are called spectators.

Just being part of a group or organization doesn't mean you are part of a team. When you break down a team they have well defined characteristics and operate based on predefined team functions. Many companies, families organizations say they are a team but don't act, nor operate like one. In fact the most successful teams I've been on came together organically - when people want to participate that is much more powerful than forced participation. Many teams come together through happenstance, you've got to recognize when there is a goal to accomplish, gather the players and take ownership to make the team a success. Even if your not part of an "official team" you can still get a great deal of satisfaction from participating in non-sanctioned team efforts.

Teams are most effective when you have a clear goal with set objectives, without goals assembling a team can do more damage than good - the damage is caused by setting the wrong expectations - using the word TEAM means something to people, many have been on teams since before they got their two front teeth, if you say team you better be able to show them you mean it.

Remember unmanaged expectations lead to disappointment.

All great teams have certain characteristics. They have defined functions such as a purpose, a coach, a captain, and players who can fill positions on the team. Teams must practice together, communicate and all understand how their function will support the goal. If you do not have all these functions in place you will fail, you've got a bunch of players - but not a team.

It's easy to test the team hypotheses; if you ask any player on a random sports team, what position do you play - they will answer. Ask them what their team ranking is, when is their next competition or what the try-out process is and you'll get an answer. Ask them what the goal is and based on their standings, last competition and gut they will give you an answer. A sports team embodies teamwork.

Now look at your "Team" - can you answer these questions? Do you know the role you play? Are you a coach, player, or perhaps an MVP? If you know your role that's great, but how close are you to meeting the goal? Do all members of the team know about the goal, and most importantly their part? When is your next competition, are you in communication with the coach. When do you practice?

Here are 10 Key criteria for a successful team, take a look at the teams you are on and see which ones could use some strengthening

1) non sanctioned teams can produce the best results
2) define success, we win when these goals are achieved - common goals
3) There must be a team captain, someone who can play the game and calls the plays
4) Pick the best, bench the rest(harsh reality when you are going after a goal)
5) You must be a team player, meaning you play the role the coach picks for you
6) Your captain better have a track record, and you need to listen - leave your ego at the door
7) Players must understand their functions, and have defined roles and responsibilities
8) If the Team fails we all fail, we need a way to keep score
9) Keep only a team big enough to meet the goal set for the team
10) look for passion, like works 9 to 5 passion works 24/7

Teams inside of companies are established and broken down based on need. Just because you've not been picked for the team you wanted that doesn't mean you can't play on another team supporting the goals and objectives, companies need many teams to be successful

The key to being picked to play is to be a team player, practice several functions, be ready when the captain picks you for one of the teams. And if you are picked, feel free to ask the basics, such as what's our goal, who else is on my team, how do we define success, when do we practice and what role do you see me playing. You can choose which teams you join choose carefully and you'll be rewarded.

Next time you’re being told you’re on a team ask for proof, not in only words but also actions.

Three Ways to Avoid That Sucker Punch Feeling When Not Finishing a Goal

Creating goals is one thing, creating and sticking to them through completion is an entirely different proposition. There are many goals that I have personally set where I completely and utterly failed to accomplish what I set out to do; it sticks me hard in the gut when I think about them. I'm sure others have similar feelings, it's always that one goal you are not able to realize, or you forget you wanted to achieve (yes I've done this) until someone else close to you does. In some cases you might be in a very bad habit that you are trying to fight but for one reason or another you take the safe comfortable route.

Three Ways to Avoid That Sucker Punch Feeling

1) Misaligned goals

It's important to shake-off negative thoughts, little failures - ignoring the goal isn't going to help in this situation. You need to tackle it head on and assess why you are not able to stick to the goal. Perhaps you have set a goal that is not in alignment with your personality. You may have picked a goal that is beyond your physical ability. In some cases you may be trying to achieve a goal that was set by someone else. In any of the case it's going to be very difficult for you to achieve these goals, you've set them for the wrong reasons, you don't have any vested interest, believe me it’s difficult to keep motivated to help someone else accomplish their goals.

2) Right actions wrong order

Another issue that keeps folks from setting and realizing goals is that many try to execute their goals in the wrong order. There is a path that you must take (albeit short-cuts are encouraged) to get where you are trying to go. Say your goal is to get a gold medal in the Olympics. If this is your goal then I sure hope you have done some preparation, thinking and dreaming about a gold medal when you might not be athletically incline, or if you’ve not picked a sport would be a all be good recipes for failure. Regardless of the goal there are steps you must take to get there. Make sure you understand what it takes.

3) Lack of follow through

Finally you have got to follow through on the activities required to complete the goal. It means commitment and hard work, if your not committed and ready to work reaching the goal will be near impossible. At the end of the day it comes down to be personally accountable for your actions. You are the only one who can accomplish your goals and to do this you must follow through.

There is no single action or thought that will help you focus on your goals, however one thing that has helped me and many others is to really find the daily time to focus on the key activities that are going to help you make forward steps, as small as they may be, needed to keep you moving towards your goals. It comes down to taking ownership and being accountable, pick goals aligned to which you are, make sure you work on them in the right order. And finally you'll need to work at it; hard work towards the right activities will pay off.

You Are Not Being Selfish When You Put Yourself First

Everyday is a new opportunity to do the things you want to - for one reason or another you run into a fork in the road. On the left are the things you want to do, on the right the things you must do. You are not unique in this dilemma, everyone must come to grips with balancing the MUST-DO’s and the WANT-TO's.

There is time in everyone’s day to do the things they want to-do - it all boils down to how they prioritize their activities.

Here are three strategies you can use to prioritize your day.

1) Set aside YOUR daily time, it's easy to push the snooze button, sleep in 30 more minutes then scurry off to do work for someone else. Pushing snooze might give you more time to finish your last dream or push off the inevitable for a few more minutes, but when you do this the person who looses is you. You MUST set aside a time when you can be alone to think. Setting aside time is like making an investment in YOU - if you don't invest you'll never get a good return. Defend your personal time as if your life depends on it – because it does.

2) Tactical versus strategic, it's easy to get caught up in the tactical activities of the day, these activities can be rewarding in an odd sort of way, kind of like the way comfort food does on a cold day. The problem with the tactical activities is that you won't get anywhere if you only do them. Think about time spent cleaning your house versus studying or getting an advanced degree, I'm not advocating having a dirty house. Both activities take time, but one will greatly improve your opportunities in life. Learn to recognize when you are doing activities to pass the time versus strategic, other non-strategic activities include, watching TV, surfing the web and more.

3) Write down your goals, there is information overload in this modern world we live in, our senses put in overtime trying to process everything coming at us. One activity I use to help focus my thoughts is to write them down, when writing it forces me to think first, write second. Thinking is a parallel activity you can switch context quickly, great for learning to react. However, writing is a serial activity - the act of writing trains your brain to think then execute, plus writing is some if the cheapest therapy you'll find. The paper is held captive to all your ideas, ramblings and rants. Once you've got your ideas captured, isolate the activities and prioritize them.

Every once in awhile it is nice to do things for others, but when you find you are spending the majority of your time helping others accomplish their goals it's easy to feel trapped, your existence is for others - all your activities go to benefit those around you.

The person accountable for change is you, you can take back control, and you do this by setting aside your time, identify what are tactical versus strategic activities and finally write down and prioritizing your activities. This gives you the starting point needed to identify and prioritize your daily activities, a way to get you out of the daily activities grind and start focusing on things that's are going to make you feel awesome.

Once you've got your activities under control, you can always go back to doing for others, the difference is that this time it will be on your terms, not theirs.

 

Five Reasons Clouds Have Vacancies

There is a dirty secret kept inside the walls of public and private cloud providers. The dirty secret is that many of the providers have huge vacancies, yet their message to the public is that they are open for business, and business is great!

Those who have been successful with their cloud initiatives know what it takes to not only start a cloud initiative but create a thriving business that grows beyond the technical pilot phase and into a vibrant cloud program.

Here are five reasons clouds go uninhabited

1) Technology focused, technology for the sake of technology has limited business benefits. Many who focus purely on the technical aspects find themselves distracted by the capabilities of cloud and end up in a technology arms race, with few business benefits.

2) Alignment with the business most will say they are aligned to the business needs, after all they work with them on a daily basis and "understand" what they need. The reality is that behind closed doors IT functions are a means to an end, a necessary cost. True alignment means you must work as partners solving business problems.

3) Process is an afterthought in many cloud initiatives, the real benefit from cloud comes from not only technology, but being able to streamline the process, automate manual steps and in many cases reduce the amount of human capital required to provide services.

4) Cost benefit analysis businesses are smart, they know not to invest without a business case, however many businesses invest in cloud technologies built on business cases developed by vendors. The truth is that the business case is of NO value if you can not execute, it comes down to execution.

5) Onboarding capability, waiting to organically grow a cloud is like watching paint dry. It's a slow, deliberate process that could take years to complete. Yet many find this out later and do not have a plan to onboard workloads into cloud, or they have a grand vision that cloud is a utopia, a pristine example of what we should aspire too. There needs to be a compromise, a transition needs to happen but at the same time business also continues to happen. It's important to provide a path to cloud if you want the program to flourish.

Cloud does and will continue to have a bright future, the reality is that the future may not be as bright for the cloud providers who aren't able to get workloads into their clouds - for the foreseeable future cloud will be a land grab, those with offerings positioned to meet the needs of the business with clear cost benefits, streamlined process, not solely focused on technology with a clear path to cloud will win the grab.

John M. Hawkins is a Senior Director with RiverMeadow Software, a leader in Cloud Portability. He is the author of Affinity: Managing Java Application Servers, and Building a Strategic Plan for Your Life and Business. Hawkins lives in Oregon Twitter: @hawkinsjohn