Team Building

Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, frequently borrows a phrase from legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who likes to say “next play” after every sequence on the basketball court. It’s a way to focus players on what they need to do to succeed.

For decades, management experts have praised Jack Welch as a model leader. The former CEO of General Electric was famous for firing the lowest-rated performers every year, causing employees to compete with each other to retain their jobs. John Mackey, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, rejects that approach.

In just over a decade, the Tufts University men’s lacrosse team has gone from worst to first under head coach Mike Daly. Instead of focusing on wins, Daly urged players to take pride in mastering the details and always improving their craft.

In the 1920s, Alfred Sloan ran General Motors. When he convened his management team to explore whether to open a plant abroad, they all approved the move. Sloan replied that he wouldn’t make a decision until he heard some disagreement. He wanted the best judgments to flow from clashing viewpoints.

Raising teamwork to the next level doesn’t mean you must hire team-building consultants and send employees on Outward Bound. Take these simpler steps.

Typically, a CEO who seeks to impress an important client will defer to the client’s wishes. But Linda Kaplan Thaler isn’t a typical CEO. As chief executive of a big New York advertising agency, she recalls a 2001 meeting with Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.

When teams sputter, conflicts can erupt. As the leader, you can insist that difficult personalities find a way to get along. Encourage diverse teams to look past their differences. Use these strategies to cure your team's negativity.

Have you drunk your organization’s Kool-Aid? Yes? That’s fine, but remember the difference between your group’s internal image and the way it is perceived in the real world.

When leading teams, resist the urge to overdo it. Some facilitators jump in and play fixer as soon as the group hits a snag. But the team won’t grow if you intervene too soon—or too often.

Some teams struggle to work together. Personalities clash, disagreements intensify and meetings turn into protracted turf battles. When groups become polarized, shake up the status quo. Try these techniques to reverse a downhill spiral so that teams regain their footing.