This week I had a chance to speak in New Orleans. My friend Jimmer Fredette is playing for the New Orleans Pelicans so I took the time to go to see them play. The Pelicans were without their star Anthony Davis (who is injured) and I was impressed with the teamwork they displayed, so I thought I would share a post I wrote about the formula for effective teamwork from several years ago.
The old acronym for TEAM is
T- Together
E- Everyone
A- Achieves
M- More
While I agree with the sentiment – it is only true if the team learns to work together.
I have been a part of teams in business, sports, and community efforts as well as church and service projects. Some have been effective and some haven’t. So what makes a team effective?
There are Four Elements of An Effective Team. It is the acronym GRIP – (Too many acronyms – I know)
Grip stands for:
G- Goals
R- Roles
I- Interpersonal Relationships
P- Processes and Procedures
G – Goals bring the team together and give a common objective. When the team all buys into the goal, they are unified in purpose and it creates synergy.
R – Roles need to be clearly defined so that everyone knows what to do and what others are doing. Roles make sure that everyone on the team has the opportunity and obligation to contribute.
I – Interpersonal Relationships are the glue that create trust, collaboration and connection. Most of my work personally in regards to leadership and teamwork is in helping others develop better interpersonal relationships. Our ability to connect, interact, network, work with, persuade, listen to, engage, serve, pay attention to and get to know others comes into play in every area of our lives – especially in teams.
P – Processes and Procedures – These are the rules which govern behavior, expectations and absolutely the consequences when standards are not met. By explicitly stating this, every person knows where they stand and what is expected. It is easy to be fair and people know the boundaries.
To establish an effective team – there are four essential elements: Goals, Roles, Interpersonal Relationships and Processes.