The A Team
The A team, how it operated & why it worked?
You know, the team that works well together, delivers outcomes and is a high functioning team – known by Jo as the “A team”. If you have ever been led or been part of the A team, you know what I am talking about.
The A team, how it operated & why it worked?
You know, the team that works well together, delivers outcomes and is a high functioning team – known by Jo as the “A team”. If you have ever been led or been part of the A team, you know what I am talking about.
When there is change, do you ever refer back to the memory on how a team should work and operate? Understanding how you build and operate an A team is critical. What makes the A team work & how do you replicate this again to go with A team version 2.
I have been blessed in my career to date to work in an A team, under a great leader and be the boss of an amazing A team.
No team is perfect, and you can never replicate what you have, but the secret sauce of what makes this A team is helpful for any manager and leaders as they build the most effective team possible.
What our people want:
People want to make a difference.
People what to be appreciated.
People want transparency.
People love connection and being something that is bigger than them or their team.
People want to work in a team / company where they can have fun and laugh and be themselves.
This all seems to make sense. So, we need to create and environment for our employees / team that ticks all these boxes.
What our company wants:
To provide a commercial service / product in the market that is leading
To generate a healthy return for the service/product
To stay ahead of the competition
To always improve the way things are done, through continuous improvement
For employees to take accountability and responsibility
So, the question then comes, how do you marry the two?
5 key elements to building & operating an A team:
Hire the right people – be clear on the capability you need. Don’t hire too many people like you. Hire people that are passionate and driven and get other people in the team involved in the recruitment process.
Fire quickly – when you hire the wrong person (and you will) move them out quickly as one bad egg can cause issues.
Build a high-performance culture – give feedback often, reward good outcomes & recognise people with things that matter to them – money, time off, visibility, training opportunity, another project or a promotion. Make sure you give you employees the glory when things go well.
Clear roles & accountabilities – be clear on what they do, their role, how they fit into the overall goals of the team / division / organisation. Be clear on how they can contribute to the team.
Communication – build a culture of constant communication – transparency and get the team to build a better way to do things – as 2 heads or 5 is better than one.
As a leader you have a very important role, to build a high performing team. There will be reasons why it’s hard or impossible but there are always things you can do to improve the performance of how a team operate. They are not rocket science but they will make a big difference.
One thing not to forget, is have fun. You spend a lot of time at work, so don’t forget to have a laugh and enjoy what you are doing. Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously, so don’t forget to smile and laugh.
Proactive approach to culture and employee engagement including flexibility is becoming really critical.
Leadership is an important element for all organisations, to execute successful outcomes having engaged staff is instrumental.
Don’t underestimate the simple things, to retain, engage your staff to get the best out of them. In the current environment with the job market, this is more important than ever.
Article by Jo Hands, Whiteark Founder
Do you have any other items that you would add to the A team list?
Tag a member from your A team or your manager of your A team and discuss what good looks like for setting up an A team.
Want to talk about building your leadership team? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our founder has a combined experience of over 20 years’ working as Executive in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders.
If we can help you, reach out for a no obligation chat to Jo Hands on 0459826221, or jo.hands@whiteark.com.au
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