Teams succeed or struggle for a variety of reasons, but one critical success factor is how well the team takes advantage of its available collective intelligence to take on challenges and tasks. A collection of disconnected silos will waste time and energy and have a negative ripple effect on the culture and the organization as a whole.

What distinguishes high-performance teams from other groups is that it is more than a collection of people simply following orders. To function effectively, a high-performance team understands the expectations they have for one another, is clear about one another’s roles and how they work together, is able to take on difficult conversations in a productive way (not avoid or bully), has a process for making decisions and setting goals, and is able to hold each other rigorously accountable to shared objectives.

If the diversity of thinking within a group is not structured or managed properly, the “team” can end up being just a collection of people working alone. Once we begin discussing guidelines on how the team will operate together, you may be surprised at the different expectations that are revealed and the power they hold. These guidelines will become an important source of structure for your team in moving toward shared vision and goals.