1. Chapter Seven From the book “Wisdom of Teams”
Team leaders
Chapter Seven
From the book
“Wisdom of Teams”

2. Team Leaders Chapter’s Essence
Successful team leaders know: goal is team performance results not individual achievement including their own
Team leaders act to: clarify purpose and goals, build commitment and self- confidence, strengthen the team’s collective skills and approach, remove externally imposed obstacles, and create opportunities for others
Most important, team leaders do real work themselves
Team performance: leader’s ability to strike a balance between doing themselves or letting others do them

3. Team Leaders Chapter’s Essence
Attitude is the key. Team leaders believe that they do not
Have all answers
Need to make all decisions
Cannot succeed w/out combined contribution
Ego is not their predominant concern
Not difficult to learn or practice. Automatic practice… yes
Team performance levels require: team to be decisive, in control and hero
Moving potential to real team: leader give up some command and control- means must take some real risks

4. Team Leaders Chapter’s Essence
Essence of team leader’s job - striking a right balance between:
Providing guidance and giving up control
Making tough decisions and letting others make them
Doing difficult things alone and letting others learn how to do them
Evolving role of team leader:
No change in formal authority. When, whether and how to use shifts
Key: understanding what team needs and does not need from leader to perform. In one sense, team leader is utility infielder or substitute player

5. Team Leaders Chapter’s Essence
Corporate leadership, business unit leadership and team leadership differ
Some people good at all three, most can be effective team leaders
Focus not just on picking ideal team leaders but help them to succeed afterwards
To begin with understanding of team leadership practices
The New York City Partnership
Brink of economics chaos in late ‘70s
Major businesses left
Prediction: demise as nation’s business and financial capital
Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council not as effective
David Rockfeller asked to succeed George Champion as the Chairperson to merge and renew both institutions for forging “common voice” for business; yes to the job and no to the mission

6. Team Leaders Chapter’s Essence
Institutions merged into one – ‘New York City Partnership’ and transformed the purpose
Rockfeller’s team worked hard in initial years: purpose, resistance, resources
Everyone on core team worked like real teams
Classic team effort with performance results: new concept for New York’s business leadership, new initiatives- summer jobs for young, housing, crime prevention networks
Rockfeller role critical: brought core team, CEOs, leaders together not because of his reputation. He was a good team leader

7. What Team Leaders Do and Do Not Do
Leaders of small groups must look to the specifics of performance challenge
In the case of team approach, leader must show- in everything done or not done – a belief in team’s purpose and people
Team leaders do not need remarkable leadership qualities or extensive training
They need to believe in their purpose and their people
Rockfeller believed both purpose and capabilities of his team. With stronger belief, instinctively, struck the right balance between action and patience. Worked to do six things

8. Six Necessary Things To Good Team Leadership
Keep the purpose, goals, and approach relevant and meaningful
Build commitment and confidence
Strengthen the mix and levels of skills
Manage relationships with outsiders, including removing obstacles
Create opportunities for others
Do real work

9. Conclusion/Learnings
Team Leaders
Conclusion/Learnings
Team leader critically influences whether a potential team will mature into a real team or even a high performance team
Unless a leader believes in a team’s purpose and people on the team, he or she cannot be effective
Selection of team leader is not the only thing that matters
Focusing on selection alone abdicates responsibility to help the leader after he or she has started
Team leadership, unlike leading a working group, demands a different set of attitudes and behaviors. Though we can learn and have them, it is not our instinctive response when selected. Relearn and reapply them
Because each team requires a different balance between action and patience, team leaders always need to grow after they are selected

10. Conclusion/Learnings
Team Leaders
Conclusion/Learnings
More attention to helping team leaders than selecting them
Monitoring team’s performance
Periodic assessment against criteria
Where team is on performance curve
Team leader’s attitude and behavior toward the team purpose and the team itself
Following questions help to evaluate
Has the leader adopted a team or a working group approach?
Is the leader striving for the right balance between action and patience within the team?
Does the leader articulate a team purpose and act to promote and share responsibility for it?

11. Conclusion/Learnings
Team Leaders
Conclusion/Learnings
That team leaders can and do learn on the job is illustrated well by Steve Frangos of the Kodak Zebra Team
The ultimate accolade to Frangos, who struck right balance between action and patience by one of the Zebras: ‘So much of what we have been able to do comes from the fact that Steve has let us be what we want to be.’
Steve’s own view of leadership: quote from the Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu

12. Team Leaders Conclusion
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate. When the best leader’s work is done, the people say,
‘ We did it ourselves.’ ”