Distinguished Leaders understand the power of distinguished teams. It is within these teams that milestones are reached with accuracy and effectiveness. Whether the team is within one organization or collaborating with other organizations, there are identifiable tell-tale signs.
Distinguished Leaders do these things within the team:
- Treat others with respect – this also implies that the Distinguished Leader has self-respect and is able and willing live by this higher standard, even when times are tough.
- Hold honorable group norms that effectively raise the collective intelligence. By holding the entire group to higher norms, the team is able to remain focused on the goals rather than be distracted by outside, non-essentials.
- Establish and maintain psychological safety. Each member is free to share personal ideas, fears, and challenges without the fear of recrimination. No team can perform higher than the psychological safety of the environment. When a team becomes stuck, it is often because there is some form of lack of safety in the psychological area. This could include passive cut downs, unrealistic expectations with accompanying guilt producing comments, lack of training and support, bullying and unrealistic expectations without being able to have a voice in the process or outcomes.
- Build authentic relationships that transcend efficiency. Each member is seen as a whole person and each interaction takes into account all of life. If efficiency is all that matter then robots and machines would work best. People have many facets and each day is different. A Distinguished Leader invests the time to build authentic relationships and encourages the same for all members of the team. Authenticity being a cornerstone principle for the team, overall progress and satisfaction remain high. Any challenges can be then worked through rather than creating strife and difficulty. A team member who cannot be authentic will usually sort themselves off the team which will also assist the team’s functionality.
- High Social Sensitivity – Distinguished Leaders are skilled at intuiting how others are feeling, including non-verbal cues like expressions, breathing patterns and overall “feel”. Any team member who may be upset or on the periphery for any reason is invited to share and process their experience in a psychologically safe manner.
- Distinguished Leaders ensure equitable distribution of conversation and overall contribution to the process at hand. For a genuine flow, all distinguished team members are engaged relatively equally. When one member is seen on the periphery, it is time to address this situation and work toward a more equitable balance.
The distinguished teams led by distinguished leaders are attentive to one another; listening to the whole person and encouraging multi-faceted sensitivity regarding all aspects of each member’s life. Listening and caring afford safety, authenticity and integrity. These teams will certainly stand out above the rest.
Psychological safety is a primary indicator of an accelerating, growing business culture.
The benefits of a distinguished team led by a distinguished leader are:
- All team members experience psychological safety within their work environment supporting overall employee satisfaction and productivity
- Errors are located and rectified rapidly
- New visions and innovations abound with the collective synergy of focus
- General solutions to problems or dilemmas are better than an individual only approach
- Tend to have high team member satisfaction and better performing results
Whether a Distinguished Leader or a member of the distinguished team, you are sure to be fulfilled, satisfied and successful. These teams are powerful because they can flow when things are running smoothly and they can buckle down and focus with intention when faced with challenges. No matter the circumstances, it is the distinguished team that will shine!
Earn your leadership every day. — Michael Jordan
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This is very insightful, and I think conveys the notion that a Distinguished Leader first and foremost thinks of themselves as a team member.
And this struck me as true yet not something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about: “No team can perform higher than the psychological safety of the environment.” This sets a high bar for a leader to maintain in a group, and almost requires a demonstrated vulnerability on their own part. (Which could be difficult to do while maintaining authority). Thanks for the ideas!