Hugh McCutcheon, Olympic gold-winning coach, discusses high functioning teams vs high performing teams. He highlights the importance of teamwork and collaboration, balancing individual achievement with team success. The significance of truth, compassion, effective communication, and fostering friendships in team dynamics is emphasized.
High functioning teams prioritize teammate behavior and relationships for success, valuing actions and interactions over achievements.
Building trust within a team requires truthful communication with compassion and empathy, setting clear expectations and avoiding personal attacks in feedback.
Deep dives
Difference between high functioning and high performing teams
High functioning teams focus on actions and interactions rather than primarily achievements. They leverage the synergy created by a group of people with similar goals. The key is to invest in teammate behavior and relationships, understanding that no one person is more important than the team's goal.
The importance of truth and compassion in high functioning teams
Being truthful doesn't mean being mean or malicious. Truth combined with compassion and empathy helps build trust within the team. Clear expectations and definitions of behaviors are necessary to help individuals understand how to live these principles. The goal is to make sure communication is heard and understood, avoiding personal attacks and framing feedback in a respectful manner.
Being friendly, not friends
Teammates should be friendly, inclusive, and respectful, but they don't need to be friends. Forced friendship or faux friendship can feel disingenuous and doesn't lead to positive outcomes. Operating in truth and allowing authentic connections to develop without the expectation of friendship creates an environment where individuals can be empathetic, understanding, and more effective teammates.
Today’s episode is on the topic of High Functioning Teams and we are joined for the discussion with one our past guests the Great Coach Hugh McCutcheon who has just written a book called Championship Behaviours
Hugh led the USA men's team to an Olympic Gold in 2008 and the USA women in 2012 and is presently an Assistant Athletics Director at the University of Minnesota
If you are want to improve your own leadership skills, then you can reach Paul and another member of the team Grant, at Elevated Leadership where we coach you towards the leader you aspire to be.
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