In the last few years, in various team building and leadership development training programs, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients who want to improve their effectiveness as leaders and team members.
The common thread in their desire for higher levels of performance is the need to develop a clear sense of Purpose, Priorities, and Approach. So here are a few leadership development training tips from KESA to help leaders in team building to deliver results.
This three-part series explores Purpose, Priorities, and Approach as they pertain to leadership development AND team building, beginning with establishing a clear Purpose.
Leadership development Training Tip: 1 – Find out the Purpose:
Purpose can be viewed as those things that bring us together, whether it’s an overarching goal, a reason for being, or why we get out of bed in the morning. Simply stated, purpose identifies what it is we are here to do.
Establishing a clear purpose helps to define a team and becomes one of the critical leadership requirements for building a high performing team. Shared purpose helps teams work through individual differences and develop collaborative processes to achieve success.
For the past 20 years, we have been working with teams and leaders in pursuit of high performance. Real Team Building occurs when individuals begin to develop a shared commitment to a common purpose.
Recently I was invited as part of a team-building and leadership development training workshop to work with a management team who felt they were floundering. Early into my discussions, I discovered that they had not participated in any meaningful dialogue related to the results they desired collectively as a management team.
Through sharing individual perspectives, members realized they shared a passion for their organization and the work they were doing. This was the start of team building and leadership development of our training program.
Undoubtedly, more work will need to be done to improve their effectiveness as leaders and a team; the purpose discussion was a critical first step.
Leadership Development Training Tip: 2 – What to do When Your Team is Stuck…
When you’re experiencing that “stuck in the mud” feeling in a team environment, discussing shared purpose is an effective means of getting “unstuck”.
Ask these 3 questions to get the discussions started:
- What is it we are here to do, day in and day out?
- What do those we serve need from us?
- What are the results we desire as a team?
These questions are only the beginning of the conversation. If you are looking for meaningful team building, and are ready to move beyond the simple games and activities, I encourage you to invite your team into a “purpose conversation” and then notice the impact this has on their development.
KESA provides a wide range of facilitation and executive coaching to support team-building initiatives.
How clear is your team on their common purpose? What is your approach to establishing a common purpose? We’d love to hear your thoughts on what’s working (and what’s not!) in your leadership and team-building efforts! Please subscribe to this blog and share your views.
Mark is the co-founder of Kesa Inc. He holds a MA in Leadership from Royal Roads University and is an ICF Certified Executive Coach. Mark’s first career was as a highly successful national champion college coach working in both team and individual sports and brings that experience to his work in organizations over the past 20 years. He is outstanding and sought after presenter.