A few companies seem to be leading the way in building and maintaining ultra-effective teams, sometimes called extreme teams. These include companies across multiple industry spectrums, notably NetFlix in entertainment, AirBnB in hospitality, and Whole Foods for groceries. I see the commonalities detailed well in the classic book, “Extreme Teams,” by Robert Bruce Shaw.
Shaw is a consultant specializing in team performance, and he brings real experience building and working with extreme teams in companies like the ones mentioned above. In my many years of experience in business, and recent work as a mentor to entrepreneurs, I have seen the business world change, and can relate well to his five success practices paraphrased here:
- Build the team from people with a shared obsession. The most effective teams are built from people with a strong sense of values and commitment, starting at the top of the company. Team members need to view their work as a calling, much more than a job, and embrace a higher purpose that shapes their collective thinking and behavior.
- When selecting members, value fit over experience. Companies with the best teams seek out candidates with the right mix of personal motives, values, and temperament to be a true team player. Cultural fit matters more than job history or functional skills. Those that have these traits are incented to join, and those who don’t are often paid to leave.
- Incent them to focus and always look to the future. Extreme teams are tightly aligned around the company’s top few priorities, while remaining open to new ideas. For team members, the ongoing challenge is figuring out what not to do. These teams are motivated to develop approaches to creatively explore new opportunities for growth.
- Let them deal with people performance, as well as results. Teams today need a culture of being simultaneously tough in driving for measurable results, and direct in support of individuals who best create an environment of collaboration, trust, and loyalty. Teams must openly deal with their own weaknesses and take action on underperformers.
- Embrace healthy conflict to avoid the comfort of stagnation. Members push themselves and each other to speak up, question the status quo, take bold risks, and confront hard truths. They recognize the value of being uncomfortable as a way to push thinking outside the box, and as a wakeup call when something is not working.
I recognize this is a revolution in the way most companies and employees work today, viewing work as a set of tasks with no passion, new members selected primarily on past experience and functional skills, and viewing conflict as something to be avoided or a sign of failure. They value harmony among members, and measure success as a function of the number of priorities concurrently managed.
Building and managing teams along the new lines outlined is not easy, and that’s why it’s a real competitive advantage when you do it. It takes a new kind of management team with a strong belief that a company can thrive with a larger purpose, total customer experience is critical to success, and the new generation of workers needs a new culture of passion and relationships.
As hard as it is to build extreme teams from the beginning, it’s much more difficult to turn around a failing or stagnant team. In fact, many would say that it’s impossible, without first replacing the top leaders and key team members in an existing organization. Thus, if you are a business leader who intends to survive and thrive in the long-term, it’s time to start today by checking the culture of your teams.