Making the most of uncertainty — Teams

Over the last few weeks, this post has considered how we try to get to grips with finding certainty from the uncertain situations the world is generating and how we deal with them as leaders. Whereas the old adage that “the only constant is change” still holds, we could argue now that pace and diversity drive an environment where now the “only constant is uncertainty”.

In thinking through how to create strategies, plans and values to handle an increasingly chaotic environment with more than enough “disrupters” around, leaders and executives need to find anchor points from which to take their enterprises forward.

From a starting position of dealing with ourselves, our circumstances, physical and mental welfare and our intellectual fitness for a role, we move on to engagement with others. How well do executives and their businesses engage, with their people, stakeholders and customers and also wider society, in respect of their brand and its values?

Key to this, moving from self and to engaging with others, is the development of high performing and self-sustaining top teams.

Praesta coaches have substantial experience in working with teams either undergoing development, with new joiners and leavers, or established teams needing to find the new “essence” to move forwards to face increasingly fractured and dislocated environments.

This need is often driven from working firstly, with individuals in organisations. As well as individual coaching, there are also subsequent benefits in a team context. This will contribute to enhanced business performance, satisfaction, engagement, and even enjoyment across the senior team and more will benefit from cascade within their own teams.

From individual to team

The Praesta approach brings together four broadly interrelated areas in which teams can identify corporate as well as individual benefits. These include: -

1. What is the commonly agreed purpose for the team?

• What are we here to do? Are we both individually understanding and collectively agreeing our mission?
• What does success look like into the future?

But often we ask, what does success in a turbulent world look like now?

Many organisations have hugely aspirational visions and articulate these very passionately. And these are good…. For many individual leaders however, the imperative is to focus on the near term. Whilst that is a good predictor of success, the crucial task of not losing sight of the bigger picture and longer term is also important. Balancing these across a team is tricky and requires both buy in and common commitment.

2. Who are we all?

In the team context, behaviours (and therefore intangible and tangible skills), prejudices and culture are impacted by those around us. So, it is vital that we all understand fully the contribution, differences and perspectives of all the individuals within the team. Literally, where are we coming from shaped into where are we going forward, as a group.

3. Our capabilities

As leaders, how do our skills, strengths and positive contributions enable us to blend and work with colleagues to shape the business as we want it to be? This has to couple our individual attributes with the rest of the team’s attributes. Who are we, and what are our capabilities and how do these help us as leaders determine where we are “on the pitch”?

4. How does it work?

So, what do we each contribute as leaders both professionally and personally to the enterprise? What processes, and above all, what recognised and respected behaviours enable us to be collectively more effective than the individual sole contributor?

Our approach in Praesta develops these areas of focus and working both with individuals and teams create programmes over a period of time to maximise awareness, create new behaviours, establish clearer direction and priorities to raise leadership performance and impact, and above all effectiveness, for the benefit of the enterprise and those who lead it , work in it and benefit from what it does.

The Power of Coaching Top Teams. Praesta 2009.

The Resilient Team. Praesta 2017

Further information and PDF downloads are available from the Praesta website www.Praesta.co.uk/publications