𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁!

On this Friday, my 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 podcast suggestion is a TED Radio Hour episode originally from September 2024, but rebroadcast a few weeks back: Secrets to successful teamwork.

Link here: https://lnkd.in/gtqJvvYS

The episode has some great tips for any team, not just one focused on innovation. For those who are seasoned pros or students of team leadership, the points discussed will be fundamental, but it is a great discussion of some key points and an enjoyable listen.

Here are my 5 key highlights:
🎯 1. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 – “Every problem also has a solution if everyone comes together on an equal basis where there is trust. Then we can really solve these issues.” – Hajer Sharief. Can’t say it any better than that.
🎯 2. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 – Amy Edmondson shares a great story about her early days in hospitals that speaks to the importance of cross-functional involvement. Innovation in particular is highly dependent on getting all the right people involved.
🎯 3. 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 – I found Peter Stavros’s story about creating a true culture of engagement very compelling. His situation involved an entire company, but this holds true for your team. People need to care about what they are working on.
🎯 4. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗨𝗽 – I loved Amy’s quote about not withholding your thoughts and concerns so much that I made it the graphic. For those of us who have led teams, this should resonate loudly. Far too often bad outcomes originate because someone held back early in the journey when something could have been done. Think “Road to Abilene”. (Google it if you aren’t familiar.)
🎯 5. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗲 – Amy Edmondson, again. Great discussion on the difference between “nice” and “caring”. Being nice leads to holding back relevant and helpful feedback. Caring means that you want to help improve the outcome for the person and the team. One of my favorite lessons from David Vroom early in my career was to “criticize the behavior, not the person”. At Lodestone Innovation, we do a lot of work with Midwestern companies and often hear about “Midwestern nice.” That behavior may feel good in the moment, but it’s is harmful in the end.

This podcast doesn’t attempt to cover all the elements of what makes a team successful, but these are some good points to include in any list of success factors. (I for one would have appreciated some discussion on the importance of having a clear and aligned goal.)

Any thoughts on “nice”? What other key success factors would you include? Any horror stories?