Memorize these three words — Consistent. Superior. Results. (We’ll come back to them in a minute.)

A team is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. Each member brings a unique perspective and strengths to the team that should make the group better if harnessed correctly. Unfortunately, the same attributes that should make us better are often the things that make it challenging to work together. But high-performing teams find a way.

“My employer may want me to feel included, but that’s the furthest from how I feel. I get excluded from meetings that I should attend. When I’m invited to meetings, I’m either ignored totally or talked over when I do attempt to contribute. I’m out of here — I’m looking for my next position.”

It’s an all-too-familiar story about lack of inclusion in the workplace. The company in the example above is about to lose a valuable resource because they don’t realize how much inclusion matters.

Inclusion in the workplace speeds up decision-making and commitment, and a Korn Ferry study…

Someone will do it if you don’t.

This is the thought at the back of every leader’s mind in today’s technology-driven work environment. You know that a new competitor can show up at any time, from anywhere in the world, boasting a new offering that customers will love.

It’s healthy to have such competition serving the market, but it means companies need to move fast if they want to remain leaders in the industry.

If you’re going to be successful, you have to operate at the edge of chaos: a highly unpredictable–but productive–work environment where different perspectives constantly bump into…

Most strategies that leaders use to improve employee engagement often make one key mistake: they assume that the entire workforce will be motivated in the same way.

But people are individuals, with different reasons for coming to work every day. If engagement is flagging, you may not be tapping into those reasons: their motives.

People don’t give top performance at work because of a ping pong table or free lunch on Fridays. When we try to make work more palatable with these perks, the unspoken assumption is that work inherently isn’t palatable. …

Think of a time when you needed to have a challenging conversation with someone at work, but kept putting it off. Almost everyone has been in this position before, and it’s a deeply uncomfortable one.

Why don’t we tackle challenging conversations with our bosses, colleagues, and direct reports?

Fear is the main reason. We might fear:

• Their reaction
• Consequences
• Being wrong
• Hurting their feelings
• Not knowing how to approach it
• Previous bad experiences
• Making things worse

As a result of this fear, we often shut our eyes to the conflict and hope it goes away on its own. …

When much of work went virtual in early 2020, plenty of attention was given to the technological tools that help people accomplish their tasks remotely. But the relationship and communication skills needed for true virtual collaboration got far less airtime.

What makes virtual collaboration successful?

At the root of collaboration, virtual or in-person, is an understanding of who a person is and what matters to them. You’ll be able to work better together if you know your own motives and drives, as well as those of the people you’re working with. According to Core Strengths research, the three primary motives are:

• Concern for People (Blue)
• …

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” — Michael Jordan

In our last post, which was part of our 5 Cs series, we considered the importance of effective communication in our previous blog, “Effective A-Team Communication.” Now, we want to consider how collaboration makes great teams even more effective. Getting a team to work well together is now harder than ever. Team structures are becoming increasingly more complex in today’s environment.

Most writers on effective teams are clear that it is imperative to have a common purpose that all of the team members buy into; they need a…

“Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.” — Mahatma Ghandi

In our last post, “Overcoming Complex Team Challenges,” we explored how great teams are made up of individuals with different views and perspectives and that effective communicators use Relationship Intelligence to recognize and accommodate views that differ from their own. However, that doesn’t mean we simply abandon our own view and accept the other person’s. There will be occasions where different but equally strong opinions will collide.

Indeed, in the most effective teams, disagreement and challenge are actively encouraged. Constructive challenge lies at the heart of many innovative…