EP044: The Four Phases to Building a High Performing Leadership Team

Dynasty Leadership Podcast

Paul Annett is the Owner of inTransition LLC. He has more than 25 years of experience in corporate management and consulting and has successfully helped first-generation family-owned businesses transfer their leadership to the second generation. Paul was also responsible for growing a privately-held printing services company from $40 million to over $140 million. In today’s episode, Paul shares the four stages teams go through before they become a high-performing and high-functioning team.

Key Takeaways:

[2:15] What types of clients does Paul usually work with?

[6:45] Instead of building a high-performing team first, Paul works with the individual leadership members first. Everybody might be very talented, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they work well together.

[10:00] Paul breaks down the four different phases a team goes before becoming a successful and high performing team.

[13:55] The first phase is the forming stage where leadership takes the time to really get to know each other. You’d be surprised that even siblings in leadership roles might discover something new about what it’s like working with their brother or sister.

[14:20] The next phase is the storming stage. Leadership members can be stuck in the storming stage for years if they’re not careful and it can lead to a lot of conflicts and lack of trust.

[16:45] What’s the difference between healthy conflict vs. unhealthy conflict?

[22:50] With every bright side, there is a shadow. It’s important for leaders to be aware of both their strengths and their weaknesses.

[27:40] The third stage is the norming stage. This is where leadership can begin to align the mission of the organization with systems and processes.

[30:25] How do you know when you’ve successfully completed one stage and ready to take on another?

[31:40] The next stage is the performing stage. This is the stage that a lot of people don’t always realize they’re in because everything is so easy!

[38:05] What are some of the biggest mistakes teams make when going through this process?

[41:00] What is considered ‘healthy friction’ within teams?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dynastylc.com

Email Todd: [e-mail]

Paul on LinkedIn

Email: [e-mail]

On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic, by Warren G. Bennis