How might we understand the secrets of highly successful teams?

Why you should read the book: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle is relevant always but gives particular inspiration today when COVID-19 is impacting lives and companies around the world. What are the secrets of highly successful groups? What teams and organisations thrive? Why? And just as important: How?

“A surprising fact about successful cultures: many were forged in moments of crisis. They use a crisis to crystallise their purpose.”

There are three key areas of focus, building safety, sharing vulnerability and establishing purpose. A short summary below:

Build safety

• 🧷 Research shows that not the smartest teams win, but those who feel most safe. Safety is key in trust and thus collaboration.
• 🧷 You need to nurture safety like a romantic relationship. You don’t establish it just once, it’s a continuous process (and work). Sent belonging cues continuously.
• 🧷 The best teams have high trust, no bullshit connections.

Share vulnerability

• 🙋 Lead with the question: How can I help? You don’t need to tell people what to do, you need your team to know what you can do for them.
• 🙋 Be honest and open. Vulnerability does not come after trust, it precedes it.

Establish purpose

• 🎯 Over-communicate priorities. Always. Continuously.
• 🎯 In proficiency cultures be very clear on where you are & where you want to go. People need to know ànd feel how to get from A-B.
• 🎯 In creative cultures you need to go from A to an unknown X. Allow people to discover what needs to be done.

I found this book very helpful. If you are managing a team, a company of like me even facilitating a Design Sprint. During the Design Sprint, although often a temporary team together for a short time, I try to be conscious of all phases.

• Psychological safety is created by clear guidelines and intimate icebreakers;
• Share vulnerability by saying: “I don’t have all the answers, you do. I am just here to guide you to them”;
• And the customer oriented long-term goal establishes purpose.

We’re Orange Minds. Adventurous out-of-the-box do-ers, engaged facilitators, challenging the status quo with humor, energy and years of innovation practice. We have run 90+ Design Sprints globally and countless innovation mindset workshops to get companies moving and adapt a growth mindset.

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