by Michael Holland
The dynamic nature of teams tends to be underestimated by most leaders and team members. A stagnant team wallows in low performance and disengaged personalities while a thriving team excels with high achievement and an abundance of team loyalty. We often forget that the team itself is a living breathing organism which needs to be feed and nurtured.
There is a beautiful moment in time when a team morphs from stagnant to thriving. It’s an amazing sight to see the team members physically open up to engage each other and to hear the increased conversational tone and expectation. Even more amazing is to feel the energy boost that emanates from the collective escalation of belief in each other and the team as a whole.
I’ve had the great fortune to be on some teams during this morphing and I’ve had the opportunity to watch teams move through the morphing. As I work with teams I fully anticipate and yearn for that feeling, that moment when the team changes momentum and allows itself to grow. And yet, there are some teams whose team members just won’t allow themselves the full glory of unencumbered freedom from stagnation.
When did you last taste the sweetness of a highly functional, thriving team?
