Traci Scherck: Working on a team, where you can go into work every single day and absolutely love what you’re doing.

Traci Scherck: Why, because you are specifically aligned to that work that you’re doing, but you also have this team around you that has accountability, it has trust, and it has fun all built into it.

Traci Scherck: And that is how we define a dream team so welcome to talent optimization podcasts today we’re going to be talking about what does it look like to create that dream team in your organization.

Traci Scherck: What specifically are the benefits to the employee ease of being on a dream team and what does it look like for the organization to actually create those dream teams.

Traci Scherck: Along with the benefits to both parties so here’s the deal, what is the dream team in a dream team is that team that is synergistic they are meeting every single one of their key objectives.

Traci Scherck: And they’re having fun doing it right and really when we look at that we look at that and say what is our business strategy and then, what are the business results that we’re driving to.

Traci Scherck: What our dream teams do is our dream teams are a part of this people strategy that we created inside of our organizations.

Traci Scherck: In to create a great dream team, you have to start with strategy, and this is backed by the science and the research at Harvard and there’s several articles out there from Harvard Business Review.

Traci Scherck: forbes etc that are all lining to this strategic plan, what is your business strategy How does that lead to those business results.

Traci Scherck: This thing right, and then we can start to align individuals, specifically with the the organization and that specific teams so.

Traci Scherck: there’s a couple successful strategies that we use to build that dream team.

Traci Scherck: And one is to commit to that strategic plan, what is the strategy for that and here’s why that’s so important to your employees if they know where they’re going and there’s clarity around that.

Traci Scherck: they’re able to jump on that bus get in the right seat and be able to produce at a high level right.

Traci Scherck: there’s nothing worse than going and putting everything you have into a project and then being told actually just worked on their own project right.

Traci Scherck: I don’t know if any of you have ever had that happen or you get a directive from a supervisor that says hey.

Traci Scherck: You know, we really need this by you know, two hours from now, or we need this by next week Tuesday and it’s a huge project and you bust your butt to get that thing done.

Traci Scherck: And then the fall Okay, did you look at that any feedback on that, and the response from the supervisor manager is actually we change directions, or we haven’t even looked at it yet and you’re like.

Traci Scherck: You know, so those are times, where when we’re not specifically tied to here’s the strategy here’s the outcomes we’re looking for and our management and leadership team is incredibly clear on that strategy, along with us as that team as to what those outcomes, need to be.

Traci Scherck: Our employees start to get disengaged What that means is the work that happens after that may not always be at that high highest level that they did that first time right.

Traci Scherck: So for employees, creating a dream team and having really clear, concise strategies in place and the communication follow up on that.

Traci Scherck: shows that hey they’re going to get that feedback that they need, and they are also going to ensure that they’re working on the right things that are meaningful.

Traci Scherck: And now let’s flip to the employer side so as you’re listening into this, either as HR or as executives inside your organizations, you know, this is something that you want those outcomes.

Traci Scherck: With the least cost possible and that’s one way to do we have the strategy and we’re only working on the things that are important we’re going to be able to get there much faster.

Traci Scherck: So that first item is, we need to have a strategy to create peace is communicating clearly.

Traci Scherck: And you know here’s the thing when we communicate only 95% of employees, according to Harvard study do not understand or aware of a company’s strategy, so we just talked a lot about what that strategy, specifically is.

Traci Scherck: And here’s the deal every single employee in your organization needs to understand what that strategy is.

Traci Scherck: And here’s some quick tips for how do we ensure that we’re communicating our strategy effectively.

Traci Scherck: And tip number one is, we need to ensure that our strategic plan is clear and that its communicated effectively across the organization meaning.

Traci Scherck: it’s not sitting on somebody is shelf right it’s it’s on the Internet we’re talking about it during our orientation onboarding a new staff we’re talking about it when we’re kicking off a new team.

Traci Scherck: So it’s really we’re building that into the fabric of the organization.

Traci Scherck: The second piece is we’re building it into every single job description, so when we’re creating job descriptions, I actually build this right into kind of that summary so.

Traci Scherck: You know organization X, Y Z is committed to whatever that mission is and we’re executing that mission through these three strategic objectives that specifically aligned to this role right.

Traci Scherck: So we’ve got it in the summary, but then we also have it built specifically into.

Traci Scherck: The essential functions of the position and when we look at those essential functions we’re writing those as smart goals right so smart goals specific it’s measurable it’s actionable.

Traci Scherck: it’s realistic it’s time based in it has that why factor, meaning it’s that it’s tying back to the mission of the organization, why are we doing this.

Traci Scherck: And when we can tie every single specific essential duty to that we’re making a really clear clear delineation of here’s what’s important and here’s how we’re measuring those outcomes.

Traci Scherck: And so the next step that we have, so the first one was that we’ve got our strategic plan communicated the second one is it’s in our job description, the third one, is that we’re bringing up in every single.

Traci Scherck: team meetings priorities is where we add on those so that it’s in front of us every single time.

Traci Scherck: Because when things aren’t in front of us, you know what gets measured gets results right, so we want to make sure that if these are strategic priority, then we need to ensure that they are aligned to the performance plans.

Traci Scherck: So when we’re doing our one on one check ins with our staff when we’re doing our performance management process and programs throughout the year.

Traci Scherck: We need to make sure that you know those strategic priorities are directly tied to that performance of the individual.

Traci Scherck: and of the teams, so when we look at our performance management plans and that program do you have a team portion of this and, specifically, an employee portion, because if we have individuals.

Traci Scherck: Only being individual contributors and not collaborating it’s not going to create a dream team right, we have all this competitiveness happening.

Traci Scherck: So we need to make sure that we have those two components built in, but it’s specifically tied back to that strategy and and then it is.

Traci Scherck: Specifically, looking at celebrating our we’re looking at celebrating our results right so we’ve got this strategy in place, we have this specific outcomes, we need to make sure we celebrate that with our staff.

Traci Scherck: So often, what we see when we step into organizations and we sometimes you know kind of fall into this as well is we get going and we hit these goals, but you know we’re not celebrating them.

Traci Scherck: And then it’s like the next time around you feel like you’re in a grind versus like oh my gosh we actually hit that thing and we hit it in time and we need to make sure that we’re celebrating that, because that is going to build our team to step into that next thing.

Traci Scherck: So those are some key items specifically around you know how we’re communicating those key items from that strategic plan and again when we’re creating dream teams so much of this is about clarity of what.

Traci Scherck: we’re going for.

Traci Scherck: Are we, when we look at alignment is.

Traci Scherck: The right person for the right job right, so we like to look at this as two sides of the same coin right, so one side of the coin is the individual person, the other side of the coin is the job, what does the job need and what does the person need.

Traci Scherck: Again, two sides of the same coin, mean that those things are aligned If those are aligned we’re going to have issues before we even get there right.

Traci Scherck: And if we have individuals that are in the wrong role they’re probably not going to be a great contributor on the team because it’s going to they’re going to be working so much harder to get that specific job done.

Traci Scherck: So that alignment is key, but when we know what the strategy is and what we’re executing towards it’s much easier to align the person with that specific job, and then the next thing that we’re specifically looking at is we are.

Traci Scherck: Then, looking at balancing our team types, so let me just kind of repeat our what our steps are just kind of to say this again so one, we have to know what our strategic plan is.

Traci Scherck: commit to that plan so everyone our leadership team knows what it is we’re all moving the same direction.

Traci Scherck: The second thing is, we need to communicate that plan effectively to all levels within the organization.

Traci Scherck: The third is, we need to align the individuals to the specific jobs that they’re in, and then the fourth is we’re balancing our team types so.

Traci Scherck: What do we mean by balancing our team types when we’re balancing our team types were essentially stating that this specific team needs to execute on a key strategy well if we have individuals on a team that maybe aren’t specifically aligned with that to execute that effectively.

Traci Scherck: it’s.

Traci Scherck: really difficult for that team to do that, so we use an easy button here and that easy button that we use is called predictive index.

Traci Scherck: And within predictive index, we can really see hey, where does every behavioral styles are and there’s really four kind of key areas that we look at.

Traci Scherck: The first one is teamwork and employee experience so when we’re looking at teamwork and employee experience these individuals are focused on collaboration and relationship building.

Traci Scherck: They prefer to support others to grow and develop and they make decisions collaboratively seeking input from each other involved.

Traci Scherck: from each other involved in the team right So these are really our collaborators, these are the individuals that are going to you know kind of check in and say how you doing today are you doing Okay, you have everything you need.

Traci Scherck: And then the next one that we have these are our process and precision folks, and these are the individuals that.

Traci Scherck: are going to be well organized and efficient they’re lying to communicate concisely after throw reflection on their own So these are independent thinkers.

Traci Scherck: But, yet when you assign them a task they’re really going to go through make sure all the processes are in place to get this thing implemented.

Traci Scherck: Again, they make decisions collaboratively and they resolve conflict by focusing on the task involved.

Traci Scherck: Then we ever results and discipline folks in the distinction here is these individuals focus on, you know they’re making decisions individually versus collaboratively as a group right, but yet they’re still incredibly.

Traci Scherck: oriented.

Traci Scherck: they’re driven and competitive and they prefer to focus on on tasks and execution and they make decisions independently, without waiting for that consensus.

Traci Scherck: And then the fourth area that we specifically look at is our innovation and agility.

Traci Scherck: And when we’re looking at innovation and agility we’re specifically looking at these are our dreamers right, these are our visionaries these are typically.

Traci Scherck: The individuals that are saying hey we’re going to try something new and see what happens and so they’re open to risk and experimentation they prefer to act quickly and assertively they make decisions independently, without waiting for consensus.

Traci Scherck: So these folks are saying hey here’s where we’re going we’re off 10,000 miles an hour and they get an 80% of the way down and they leave it records.

Traci Scherck: But they also can see a head of hey where do we need to go.

Traci Scherck: In here, something every single one of these individuals and the folks in these areas have amazing strengths, or we put them together, we need to make sure they’re aligned with what the team is strategy is.

Traci Scherck: And so that’s essentially how we’re creating our dream teams right we’re not only aligning individuals to the job but we’re also aligning the team to what the team needs to produce.

Traci Scherck: And there’s a couple of different types of team types that we look at so i’m going to give you kind of two examples, one might be an executing team and on and executing team, this is specifically a team, that is.

Traci Scherck: No nonsense they address conflict, logically, everything is facts, not feelings, so if you think about an executing team.

Traci Scherck: If they’re addressing things very, very specifically there’s a huge potential for burnout we may need that executing team to get this project done.

Traci Scherck: But we also could really bring on a balancer to that team that might be a teamwork and an employee experience individual they can.

Traci Scherck: Ensure that hey they’re checking and how are things going, you know how are things going at home, you know I noticed that xyz was happening.

Traci Scherck: That helps to balance that team now, if we look at another kind of team type it’s so another team type that we could specifically look at maybe a.

Traci Scherck: Maybe a pathfinding team, so a pathfinding team is one that’s really looking to get into new markets they’re relentless.

Traci Scherck: conflict is frequent it’s also valued as people challenge each other to think differently and TEAM members to always coordinate before acting.

Traci Scherck: So if we for the strategy we need to execute need an executing team, but yet we have a pathfinding team we’re going to have a really hard time getting that thing done.

Traci Scherck: And that’s going to create conflict, which means we’re probably not going to have that dream team that we actually wanted.

Traci Scherck: And so that just gives you kind of a quick idea of what this looks like now here’s some of those key takeaways, why are creating dream teams, important for our.

Traci Scherck: For our staff one because they’re going to be more engaged in the work that they’re doing so they’re going from this.

Traci Scherck: have to curve like hey I have to be here to this want to curve, which says, I want to do this thing to the absolute best of my ability.

Traci Scherck: And when we flip this on the other side, specifically for our managers and leaders in our organization you’re just going to get better results.

Traci Scherck: So let me give you an example, I was working in an organization out of brand new team and a brand new position and I was responsible for all of our human relations, which included fundraising it included.

Traci Scherck: Human resources and marketing, so what we were responsible for doing is twofold right one part of what we were doing was very compliance focused and we needed that really detail oriented individual in there.

Traci Scherck: But then we also really needed to go out and create strong relationships to do million dollar ask.

Traci Scherck: To bring in that foundational dollars for the organization, so we had to almost break territory and create new programs, in order to do that and so that team looked a little bit different almost like an adapting team hey sometimes.

Traci Scherck: My other times we had to act another the key here was everything was about relationships and as we worked what we found was.

Traci Scherck: That we really had to have those strong relationships built on trust and how we then communicated with each individual on that team.

Traci Scherck: became incredibly important for all of us getting those key pieces done so with that, as we close every podcast.

Traci Scherck: Two key takeaways The first one is for our executives listening in today and that’s as you create your dream teams ensure that your strategic priorities are incredibly clear and communicated effectively across your organization.

Traci Scherck: So, not just the strategic priorities, but what is the outcome that you’re specifically looking for so that your managers and your team can really execute towards that.

Traci Scherck: And then the key takeaway for HR listeners today is, you know, make sure you’re creating that people strategy that aligns that business strategy to those business results.

Traci Scherck: And when you’re looking at that ensure that that communication is there, amongst all levels of the organization of here’s what you know here’s the highest priorities and.

Traci Scherck: How we can get there, at the same time, those dream teams are really built upon trust and knowing that here’s the strategy that we need to execute here’s.

Traci Scherck: Who, we need on that team to make that thing happen so everyone’s strengths are amplified.

Traci Scherck: So if you’re curious about more you can find us at elevated talent consulting.com, please be sure to subscribe to our podcast.

Traci Scherck: And in the show notes, we do have a link that if you want to learn what your team type is there’s an easy way that we can do that, and we would love to have further conversation with you, so we wish you a great day, and thank you so much for listening to talent optimization.