Bloody, Unwinnable Team Battles

Stop enabling bloody, unwinnable battles in your organization. If you and your team are frustrated because departments don’t collaborate, projects just spin their wheels, or you’re stuck acting as a bridge between your team and other department leaders, then it is up to you to stop the madness. The question is how?

Patrick Lencioni uses the concept of Team 1 to teach leaders how to create healthy teams that communicate and work together to deliver results. He refers to Team 1 as the team to which you are most accountable; the team whose priorities you need to advocate for and resource first.

As leaders, we often think of our Team 1 as the group of people who report to us. We prioritize accountability and relationships within that team above all others. Patrick Lencioni would tell us that Team 1 is actually our peer group of leaders across the organization.

When clarity, shared objectives and collaborative relationships are formed across the leadership team, functional teams (direct reports) for all leaders follow suit. Leaders who share common objectives provide consistent and clear expectations that reduce silos and miscommunication, reducing those bloody, unwinnable battles.

Key points to remember about Team 1:

• Your Team 1 should encompass your peer leaders across your organization (versus just within your functional department).

• Prioritize your relationships and establishment of common goals in Team 1.

• Team 1 challenges the conventional focus on individual departments, which can create silos, and promotes cross-departmental collaboration.

Check out Patrick Lencioni’s explanation of Team 1, and then watch the video below where our own Rhonda Honke walks through a personal example of how the concept was a game-changer for her in a previous role.