To have a common and significant purpose helps the team pursue performance goals which allows them to focus on achieving results.
When a team faces a signifcant challenge and they have a clear performance standard, the titles, roles and labels of the team members, vanish. Instead, a real team uses its self-organization to identify what needs to be done, how to do it and how each member can contribute, in the most meaningful way, to the achievement of the goal.
This performance standard is none other than the expectations of the team for each of the members. This standard should defy the team members to commit, as a team, to make a difference.
A couple of powerful questions
- What does each team member expect from you?
- If you don't know, what do you need to find out?
- Do the members of the team know what you expect from each one of them?
- If they don't know, what would you need to tell them?