The best leaders understand that the key to successful teams isn't bringing together a group of all-stars and asking them to accomplish a goal. Success is bringing together a group of capable individuals who have a shared motivation to do their best work and value the contributions of all team members. I have experienced firsthand the joy of seeing a group of individuals come together to experience immense team success and the frustration of leading a team of talented individuals that never came close to reaching their potential.
All teams face a universal tension that will drive their success or become the primary reason they fail. This ongoing tension is the need for the team to have a laser-like focus on accomplishing the team’s most important goals and creating a culture of trust, safety, and inclusion. In other words, teams must focus on continuously achieving results and developing relationships.
How To Develop Teams That Have Strong Relationships And Excellent Results
I have studied, researched, and used many models to help teams succeed with results and relationships. I continually return to a framework called GRPI, an acronym for the four dimensions (Goals, Roles, Processes, and Interpersonal) for team development and performance. The GRPI model for team effectiveness was developed by Richard Beckhard, one of the founding pioneers of organizational development.
I have used this framework to help teams assess and evolve their environment for increasing team results and interpersonal relationships. GRPI has proven to be a simple and practical tool for assisting teams with development and growth. Below is a quick overview of each of the 4 dimensions of the GRPI framework.
Goals
The importance of meaningful goals on an employee's performance, engagement, and motivation is well-documented. We know that setting goals provide the benefits of clarity, focus, increased performance, professional development, and accountability. Goals give direction to a team, allowing them to understand where they are now, define where they want to go, and unite each individual's effort in getting there.
They create identity: a common goal is what makes the team a team. Without a uniting goal, any team development will have a limited impact. Below are examples of goal clarity that teams and employees need to thrive.
- Purpose – Fundamental reasons for the team and project; why we're here.
- Values – The set of beliefs that drive our everyday behavior.
- Team Goals – What we want to achieve; a description of a successful endpoint at a particular time.
- Individual Goals – Clear individual goals that align with team goals
Roles
Clarity and agreement of team members' authority, responsibilities, and tasks are needed for the team to accomplish its goals effectively. Each team member should have a clear picture of who is responsible for what and the extent of their authority. Team members should understand, agree, and be satisfied with their roles and responsibilities, being accountable individually and collectively.
Team members must cooperate and accomplish goals as effectively as possible. Research shows that role clarity is essential for healthy relationships, motivation, and performance.
Processes
Setting clear and effective processes for decision-making, conflict management, problem-solving, communication procedures, resource allocations, etc., will support the team's goals by defining the critical interactions needed for team effectiveness. The amount and types of processes depend on the task, size, and team composition. Examples include:
- Decision Making - How does the team make decisions on a collective level? How are different team decisions made?
- Resource Allocation - How does the team prioritize resources to accomplish its most important goals?
- Conflict Management - What is the process for resolving conflict?
- Learning - How will the group continuously learn and evaluate its progress?
Interpersonal
Teams need to be both social and results-focused for long-term success. Problems can occur when individuals continually face challenging project deadlines or unexpected setbacks. Focusing solely on tasks can work for short periods of time, but over the long haul, these behaviors deteriorate a team's social bonds.
The ability to build team relationships is now more difficult because so much of our work and meetings are virtual. This isolation is problematic, as a solid social support system is essential in creating resilient and productive teams.
Leaders must work to deliberately build their team's social networks, especially during setbacks, challenges, changes, and high demands. Below are some ideas for how leaders can support their team members in building strong relationships.
- Celebrate Wins - Too often, teams focus on the next mountain without acknowledging their successes. Take time out to celebrate wins.
- Gratitude - Take time in meetings to share an appreciation for others or what has gone well for team members during the last week.
- Emphasize Team Collaboration - Leaders must emphasize collaboration's importance and address collaboration issues immediately.
- Team Building - Effective team-building activities are excellent for cultivating a sense of unity and camaraderie among employees.
I like how Shawn Achor summed it up in his book The Happiness Advantage: "The greatest predictor of success and well-being is one's social support network. Countless studies have found that social relationships are the best guarantee of heightened well-being and lowered stress, both an antidote for depression and a prescription for high performance."
Conclusion
Team members working together to put together a puzzle
The baseline for team effectiveness is having a group of capable and engaged individuals. But having talented individuals is not enough. Leaders need to create an environment that facilitates employees feeling heard, valued, and capable of doing their best work. The GRPI dimensions are essential for leaders to help their teams establish a productive and healthy culture.
