As people become more self-aware, they are usually amazed at the abilities of the conscious mind to choose, handle situations with deliberation, and behave appropriately for different occasions. On the flip side, the unconscious mind is a powerful force driving our behavior. Within our unconscious lie veiled assumptions and beliefs that formulate what is called default behavior. The dictionary defines default as the “failure to perform a task or fulfill an obligation,” which means that default behaviors are reactive responses that occur when we fail to consider the appropriate response.
Becoming aware of our personal reactive tendencies is crucial if we want to make sense of our toxic behaviors, understand why we have permitted these gremlins to continue, and develop a plan for taming them. Our attitudes are choices, some of the most important choices we will ever make.
On a strong team, everyone plays their position well, allowing the team to have "wins". Team members leverage each other's skills and value each other's time. Learning to trust and help each other leads to working at a higher level together. Increasingly, organizations count on teams to develop products and deliver services to their customers. Consequently, effective teamwork and team leadership are integral components of an organization's success.
In 9 Powerful Practices of Really Great Teams, Stephen E. Kohn and Vincent D. O'Connell define the essence of superior performance by teams and identify nine attributes of team membership and leadership that set the stage for accomplishment of group objectives.
Superior relationship skills drive a team's effectiveness. This truism is as universal and fundamental as any in organization psychology. Anyone who has ever participated in any type of group project within an organization knows that success and morale are heightened when team members relate well with each other. Conversely, teams can be downright dysfunctional when members' relationship skills are absent, flawed, misdirected, untrusting or not synchronized in any meaningful way.
Stephen Kohn: 9 Powerful Practices of Really Great Teams
John Agno: Can't Get Enough Leadership
Steve Jacobs: The Behavior Breakthrough: Leading Your Organization to a New Competitive Advantage