Module 3 Briefing Sheet / Class of 2021
Building and Leading High-Performing Teams
Click to download PDFs of:
- The Slides for this Module
- The Workshop Exercises for this Module
- The Learning Objectives for this Module
- A Word version of this Briefing Sheet
MATERIALS
- HBR: The Discipline of Teams (Jon Katzenbach & Douglas Smith, July-August 2005) (https://hbr.org/2005/07/the-discipline-of-teams)
- McKinsey Quarterly: Teamwork at the Top (Erika Herb, Keith Leslie & Colin Price, 2001) (download by clicking title)
- Corentus Inc.: Team Frameworks (sections on “The Team Wheel” and “Team Life Cycle”) (Alexander Caillet, 2020) (download by clicking title)
- The Mobius Strip: The Team Adaptability Advantage (Alexander Caillet & Amy Yeager, Spring 2017) (download by clicking title)
- HBR: How Your State of Mind Affects Your Performance (Alexander Caillet, Jeremy Hirshberg & Stefano Petti, Dec. 8, 2014) (https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-your-state-of-mind-affects-your-performance)
- YouTube - The Insight Channel: The Power of State of Mind (Alexander Caillet, Sept. 15, 2019) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTk92sr0mZE)
- YouTube - The Corentus Channel: Is Your Team Doing “Real Work”? (Alexander Caillet, March 18, 2019) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShXXHacELuI&list=PLhyfXzgFDKPvj8GUa7lSLQfz6gge61-Ur&index=6)
TASKS
- Read the articles and view the videos.
- Complete the Personal Reflection Questions below.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
- In The Discipline of Teams, Katzenbach and Smith state that a team’s essential discipline comprises five characteristics: a meaningful common purpose that the team has helped shape; specific performance goals that flow from the common purpose; a mix of complementary skills; a strong commitment to how the work gets done; and mutual accountability.
- Which of these five characteristics do you see as needing most improvement in the groups and/or teams you lead and/or are a part of in your legal department?
- What could you do to make tangible improvements in this/these characteristics?
- In Teamwork at the Top, Herb, Leslie and Price discuss the three dimensions of performance that “top-performing” teams have to master: they must have a common direction; the members must be skilled in their interactions with one another; and they must always be able to renew themselves.
- Which of the three dimensions of performance do you see as needing the most improvement in the groups and/or teams you lead and/or are a part of in your legal department?
- Which practices presented in the article are most compelling to you?
- Reflect on Caillet’s Is Your Team Doing “Real Work”? -
- How much “real work” is done by the groups and/or teams you lead and/or are a part of in your legal department?
- If minimal, what type of work do they do?
- Reflect on Caillet and Yeager’s The Team Adaptability Advantage -
- Which operating mode do the groups and/or teams you lead and/or are a part of operate most frequently from in your legal department?
- Why is this?
- If relevant, what other mode or modes do you believe are possible?
- Reflect on Caillet’s Team Life Cycle (in the Team Frameworks document) -
- In which phase(s) would you place the groups and/or teams you lead and/or are a part of in your legal department?
- How long have they been in this phase and what, if relevant, would it take for them to move to the next phase?
- Consider Caillet’s The Power of State of Mind and How Your State of Mind Affects Your Performance -
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- What is the impact of your state of mind on your environment – both personal and professional?
- What practices do you use to manage your state of mind on a daily basis?
IN YOUR COHORT MEETING (Meet to discuss the following BEFORE classroom session)
- Check in and share any additional learning from the previous session.
- Based on personal preference or as agreed upon by your cohort, discuss your responses to the Personal Reflection Questions
MODULE 3 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Learn the dynamics of a team’s Life Cycle and why each stage is important
- Learn the various Operating Modes groups and teams can work from and the competitive advantage that is born out of being able to move back-and-forth across these modes
- Learn the four primary Team Leadership Styles, define your primary and secondary styles, and discover the power born out of being able to step into all of them
- Learn and practice one of the essential dimensions of high performing teams: Common Purpose and Shared Goals
- Learn about the impact of State of Mind on team Buoyancy, Safety and Performance and explore a suite of tools and techniques to achieve the optimal states of mind for your groups and/or teams