Teams are the fundamental social units of every organization. However, little formal development effort is invested in most teams, and most teams have significant opportunity to improve their functioning and processes.
There are two fundamental dimensions of team functioning: the task the team is required to carry out and the social factors that influence how members interact and work together.
In order to improve, teams must better address what they are trying to achieve and how they will go about achieving those goals. Effective teams actively articulate their objectives; carefully assess their strategies for achieving them; and promote how their team members work together to resolve conflict and drive results.
Through our Team Alignment Programs, Nevins Consulting helps executive teams to clarify focus on both the task and the social dimensions, including:
- Organization Objectives: “What are we trying to accomplish for our organization?”
- Team Functioning: “How can we work together most effectively to accomplish our goals?”
- Individual Team Member Effectiveness: “How can I leverage my greatest skills and abilities to bring the team to a higher level?”
Our Team Alignment programs cut through what is irrelevant and focus on what will foster more meaningful alignment, whether during M&A mode or as part of change or restructuring. Team Alignment is also extremely useful for addressing and improving poor relationships, communication, unproductive conflict, and decision-making patterns within existing teams, or for when a leader embarks upon a new direction, strategy, or initiative. In cases where there is new leadership, or where a significant number of team members are new (during a merger or consolidation, for instance) Team Alignment accelerates integration.
Although Team Alignment is an ongoing process within a team, significant breakthroughs often occur at two- or three-day off-site meetings. We help design and facilitate highly participative, structured events designed around specific business situations.