There has always been a need for strategy, and it seems to be at the forefront of many leaders’ minds right now. However, this hyperfocus on strategy just might be taking you down the wrong path. Here’s why.
As we all have limited bandwidth, focusing solely on strategy will leave something out. Juggling competing priorities is part of the art of leadership, and there is one priority no leader can afford to leave out or even reprioritize. And that priority is the health of their team.
The health of the team is paramount. Without a healthy team, your culture crumbles and as Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.
With a healthy team, you can weather a lot of storms because a healthy team knows how to debate, support each other, respect each other, question each other, hold each other accountable; they trust each other. And as Patrick Lencioni says, “Building a cohesive leadership team is the first critical step that an organization must take if it is to have the best chance at success”.
A team of greats is a team who knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They intentionally give up the right to remain comfortable. They don’t stay silent. They know there isn’t a meeting after the meeting. They know if they have something to say, they are expected to speak up and say it-why? Because that is the expectation.
And while being in a room with a healthy team like this can make visitors who have never seen this dynamic before uncomfortable, the team thrives. They thrive because they understand it is their diversity in thought, background, education level, and experience expressed in a psychologically safe environment where it is okay to disagree that is key to them being successful.
So while the world has a lot to say about what it takes to be successful, having a healthy team is the golden ticket.
