Climate Change for Teams
Why Are Team’s Essential?
People rarely function effectively in isolation. In fact it is almost impossible for us to do so in
the long-term. Humans have evolved and progressed as a result of coming together in tribes.
It was because we formed tribes that we moved from being prey to being predator at the top
of the food chain. In tribes we were stronger, safer, and could achieve more. Quite literally,
our very survival – and the reason we have flourished as a species – is because we developed
complex social structures and sophisticated ways of working together.
Modern tribes are known as teams and given their effectiveness it is not surprising that 80% of companies with 100
or more employee’s function by using some form of team structure. For any organisation to thrive in our increasingly
complex and rapidly changing world, it is essential that leaders bring together the knowledge, skills and perspectives
of individuals in a team environment to enable them to solve the challenges they face. Not only do high-performing
teams foster increased performance, creativity and innovation; they also foster change readiness by building
organisational capability, resilience and team-member wellbeing.
Despite the benefits of teams, organisations often struggle to understand the mechanics of how to create high
performance teams, as they rarely understand the difference between work-groups and teams. Erroneously, the terms
work-group and team are used interchangeably. However, work-groups and teams have several important differences.
Work-groups are a collective of individuals, who often work towards the same goal, but largely work independently.
While they may meet from time to time to discuss work, this does not make them a team. Work-groups are not highly
cohesive and often have a silo-like mindset. In work-groups, group or organisation dynamics (formal or informal)
support people working independently on important organisational deliverables, issues or projects. For example
people may be rewarded (implicitly or explicitly) for pursuing and achieving outcomes that align with their individual
job description. They are not rewarded for collaborating with others in shared work that may in fact greatly benefit
the organisation. In a range of contexts the performance of work-groups is diminished as individuals work in a largely
isolated and disconnected way. In some organisational contexts work-groups may still be effective however, because
the work place is now more complex than ever, teams are often more effective than groups.
Like work-groups, teams’ are also a collective of individuals, however they have a shared mental attitude, meaning
people are aligned. Team alignment is often created via a unifying vision and shared values. Further, teams have a
shared mindset that ‘my success is your success’ (and vice versa). The strength of the team is each individual member,
and the strength of each individual member is the team. In a team each member’s work is interdependent, meaning
people are rewarded, and hence motivated, for working together to support the teams’ results, as opposed to focusing
on their own personal agenda or outcomes. In organisations’ where teams are the primary mode through which work
gets done, performance is dramatically increased because collaboration, shared learning and shared problem solving
is encouraged and supported. From decades of research we know that high-performing teams are able to achieve
more because they pool their collective strengths (skills, abilities knowledge and wisdom) to achieve more than the
sum total of their own individual efforts.
©Copyright 2015, Climate Change for Teams
Climate Change for Teams
1
Why Is ‘Team Development’ Often Unsuccessful?
Despite the essential nature of teams, organisations tend to use the wrong approaches and tools to develop teams.
Organisations frequently invest heavily in team-building sessions that commonly translate into team love-ins’ with
games and fun activities. While these sessions may enhance social connections within the group, there is little
evidence to support the notion that they significantly enhance actual work performance. Other commonplace
approaches also include the use of tools that assess individual aspects of personality or learning styles. Individual
measures help individual people understand how they work within a team, however they do not offer any information
on the mechanics or dynamics of high performing teams nor do they show how team members interact holistically.
When your goal is to create effective teams, research consistently shows these approaches and tools lead to
disappointing results, offering little real and sustained improvement in actual team effectiveness (Offermann, L. &
Spiros, R. 2001).
If your goal is to genuinely develop high-performing, cohesive teams to drive organisational performance then
understanding and developing your team’s climate will have a far greater impact on your teams performance,
cohesion, innovation and wellbeing. Few organisations genuinely understand Team Climate and its inherent value. For
those that do understand it there are significant rewards.
Why Examine Team Climate?
The people around us influence the way we act, think and even the way we feel. Therefore,
developing a strong team climate creates shared mental attitudes, behaviours and motivations
and result in more effective ways of working together.
In meteorology the term climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a region or area. In certain regions
around the world the prevailing climate can be hot (e.g., Sahara Desert), cold (e.g., the Arctic Circle) or tropical (e.g.,
The Tropic of Cancer). The prevailing climate in these regions dictates what grows and lives, and what withers and
dies. Organisations also experience prevailing climates that support the growth of certain organisational behaviors. For
example, some organisational climates support innovation and change (e.g., Apple, Google) while others support risk
minimization, stability and maintaining the status quo (e.g., most financial institutions and government departments).
In politics the term climate refers to the prevailing trends in public opinion about certain aspects of life (e.g., the
current economic climate is….). Similarly, in organisations the term climate refers to shared perceptions (or prevailing
trends) amongst employees about the importance of certain aspects of our work. For instance, organisations can
foster a range of specific climates such as: a climate for customer service (e.g., Lexus or Emirates), a climate for
innovation (e.g., Virgin Galactic), a climate for safety (e.g., BHP Mining or DuPont) or a climate for learning (e.g.,
Stanford University or MIT). These specific climates are powerful predictors of the specific behaviors each organisation
will exhibit.
Just as meteorological and political climates vary depending on the region and season respectively, organisational
climates also vary depending on the quality of leadership, market segments, industry, and organisational context.
Climate Change for Teams® is a global measure of team climate which assesses shared perceptions about the team
environment, including its collective perceptions of the team and its leader, processes, practices and ways of being
that support the achievement of team outcomes. Team Climate is a powerful indicator of your teams effectiveness
and general health. Team climate is at the core of every team and is a key factor separating high performing teams
from average teams. Understanding team climate helps leaders and teams understand the social-cognitive processes
behind how great teams work.
2
Climate
Change
forChange
Teams for Teams
©Copyright
2015,
Climate
Climate Change for Teams
©Copyright 2015, Climate Change for Teams
2
Based on many years of research we now know that the most effective teams create environments where:
•
Team members have a greater sense of, and identification with, the collective
•
The needs of the team are placed above the needs of individual members
•
Team members are encouraged and feel safe to communicate and innovate
•
Gratitude and appreciation are openly expressed
•
Wins are celebrated, big or small
•
Team members show genuine care and concern for each other
•
Team members are encouraged, enabled and supported to grow and develop
•
There is a disciplined approach to problem solving
•
Business data is reviewed and improvement plans are created, and
•
The big idea, vision or direction of the team is clear.
High performing teams understand the importance of team climate and the impact their team environment has on
their success. Undertaking a Climate Change for Teams® Assessment provides leaders and their teams with shared
frames of reference about the mechanics of high performance teams. It also provides targeted strategies to enable
leaders and teams to foster a team climate that meets the needs of all team members and supports the success of
your business.
Why Climate Change for Teams?
Climate Change for Teams® helps leaders turn work-groups into cohesive teams and existing
teams into high-performance teams.
Leadership and team performance account for 58% and 24% respectively of all the issues in an organisation’s
performance. That’s 82% of performance issues in just these two areas. Despite this, most assessment tools focus
exclusively on either leadership or on individual team members. Climate Change bridges the divide between
leadership and team performance by examining team climate and providing team leaders with the feedback they
need to catalyse growth in their team.
Climate Change bridges the divide
between Leadership and Team
Challenges
58%
LEADERSHIP
24%
TEAM
PERFORMANCE
13%
SALES
5%
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
Climate Change for Teams® draws on decades of research from the fields of team dynamics, social-cognitive
neuroscience, social and organisational psychology, and the current business literature. Climate Change helps leaders
understand how a team’s climate influences a wide array of outcomes including individual, team and organisational
performance.
3
Climate
Change
forChange
Teams for Teams
©Copyright
2015,
Climate
Climate Change for Teams
©Copyright 2015, Climate Change for Teams
3
What Does Climate Change Measure?
Climate Change for Teams® examines six social-cognitive needs of your team from the
perspective of the team leader and team members.
Climate Change, unlike most tools, looks at a set of core human needs that exist within every team member
by drawing on the latest research from the field of social-cognitive neuroscience. This research informs us that
team members have a shared set of needs.
The neuropsychology underpinning Climate Change for Teams® informs us that our brains share six key
social-cognitive networks that influence how we respond and act in social or team environments (see below).
These six social-cognitive needs are:
•
Relevance: Teams are more secure and sure about their work and how it relates to the success of the team
•
Expression: Teams feel safe expressing their ideas and emotions enhancing creativity, problem-solving and
innovation
•
Lead the Pack: Teams are more focused on achieving shared goals and outcomes
•
Interpersonal Connection: Teams form strong, cohesive relationships and show appreciation, care and
support for others
•
See the Facts: Teams are informed by good information and able to make better decisions
•
Hold the Vision: Teams have a clear, shared vision and a hopeful outlook about the future.
Climate Change for Teams® describes these six-building blocks necessary for creating a climate that supports
the creation of high-performance teams. Climate Change for Teams® provides leaders and teams with insights
regarding the degree to which the current team climate supports these six needs and provides practical
strategies to strengthen each of these areas.
Relevance
ST
Lead
ing
ts
Fac
e
h
gt
in
e
Se
Hold
the
Vis
io
n
n
sio
es
pr
Ex
1
the
P
ac
k
onal Connect
rpers
ion
Inte
4
Climate
Change
forChange
Teams for Teams
©Copyright
2015,
Climate
Climate Change for Teams
©Copyright 2015, Climate Change for Teams
4