This is obviously a big topic.
One principle we're quite obsessed about at MadKudu is to become the best at proactively addressing "the 5 dysfunctions of a team".
We believe those dysfunctions are natural. And that it is with a deliberate effort that we confidently build great teams we're part to be part of.
Below a summary (copy/pasted from the first blog post I found).
This occurs when team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another and are unwilling to admit their mistakes, weaknesses, or need for help. Without a certain comfort level among team members, a foundation of trust is not possible.
Teams that lacks trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate about key issues, causing situations where team conflict can easily turn into veiled discussions and back channel comments. In a work setting where team members do not openly air their opinions, there is a lot of posturing and precious time is wasted, resulting in inferior decisions.
Without conflict, it is difficult for team members to commit to decisions, creating an environment where ambiguity prevails. Lack of direction and commitment can make employees, particularly star employees, disgruntled.
When teams don’t commit to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven individuals hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that may seem counterproductive to the overall good of the team. This allows for mediocrity.
Team members naturally tend to put their own needs (ego, career development, recognition, etc.) ahead of the collective goals of the team when individuals aren’t held accountable. If a team has lost sight of the need for achievement, the results ultimately suffer.
The dysfunctions above focus on the negative, ie. on what's naturally broken in a team.
Let's look at what greatness look like instead. The best teams...
We know the other person in the team is not looking to hurt us to get ahead. We understand others' intentions despite our differences in values, in our differences in communication style, in work style, and in our areas of expertise.
Because of #1, we feel safe to ask feedback from others. We feel safe to ask to be challenged in our plans. Because we use the knowledge of the TEAM, we have better ideas and we make better decisions.
Because of #2, everyone feels heard in the decision making process. This means that even though we might not all agree with the chosen solution, it's ok to "disagree and commit".
We make courageous clear commits to our team because we want them to know what to expect.
We play collectively very well because each of us have those clear agreements in place.
Thanks to #4, it's easy to see when we succeeded or when we failed at somethings.
We help each other acknowledge our fails (remember: failing is great as it means we're trying hard things).
Because we acknowledge our issues, we identify what needs to be looked into early on. We honestly and courageously look at the root causes. We take action to fix them as a team.
While it feels uncomfortable at first to keep each other accountable, we quickly realize the team does it out of LOVE and that it brings greatness in our collective work. And.... greatness feel great!
Level 5 is quite exceptional... We're part of a fantastic team. We're moving fast and having a great impact. Sometimes the interest of the team is not aligned with our owns. We acknowledge the mis-alignement of interests and we put the team first. This is a beautiful act. It inspires others to do the same.
It makes all of us proud. It fills our heart with a sense of purpose... until a new person comes in the team or someone leaves. Then we then have to go over all those steps again... But we've seen what great looks like. We get at it with playfulness, confidence and a happy heart.
There is no magic recipe. And we're still figuring it out as a company and team.
It starts by identifying in our team which level we're at. We then take actions to climb to the next level the same way you do in a video game!