The Four Markers of a Healthy Team - Is Your Team Health at Risk?

Much can be learned about our medical past, present and future by just taking a blood sample. As a fifty-something year old male I faithfully get tested each year for my risk of prostate cancer. It takes a brief moment and I avoid any embarrassing or intrusive (quite literally) exams. How? By taking a simple blood test. That small sample of blood from my arm will tell much about my future risk because the technician that examines it can spot the “markers” that indicate a potential problem. These markers are observable indicators of my future health. I think the same principle applies to your team. 

If you’re a leader, and by that I mean one with a real team to lead (as opposed to a thought-leader or social influencer), then your team has markers that indicate both its current health and future risk. Yes, there is a future risk with all teams, what you have today may not be what you have tomorrow, no team is immune. So how can you gauge the current health of your team and possibly see the telltale signs of impending problems? After all, the same theory applies to team health as it does to our medical health… ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. 

Having spent decades leading teams and now working with leaders at all levels to build stronger, more productive and effective teams I’ve learned that there are four essential markers or indicators of team health. To be a healthy and active team you need all four. One or two is an indication of risk. You also require each marker to maintain or increase its vibrancy. The diminishing visibility of any one of these markers is an indicator of a pending problem. Here are the four markers that I have found on every high-performing team I have worked with (and absent on every low-functioning team I have coached). Early detection and prevention sure beats radical surgery down the road. You’d do well to take this four-step check-up with your team. 

1. The team is able to clearly articulate their purpose and goals - If I walked through your work area and randomly chose a team member, would they be able to articulate what the team is trying to accomplish this year? I’m not asking what their job is or some airy-fairy vision statement, I’m simply asking what the big ticket items are that the team needs to accomplish and why. The ‘why’ is the kicker. Some teams can recite a mission, fewer can reference the strategic priorities, but it’s a select few that can clearly and concisely say why the team exists. Purpose is the first marker we’re looking for. 
2. The team is energized to work - What’s the motivation temperature on your team? Are they dragging, as if on the final mile of the marathon or is there a spring in their step...even on a Wednesday morning? Contribution is the second marker we’re after. High-performing and healthy teams are like gears in a machine all working together, each playing a distinct but integrated role. That’s true collaboration. Each member must know their part in the bigger picture and their individual contribution fuels their energy level. It’s palpable when you’re in their presence. 
3. The team continually challenges the status quo - How does your team handle the day to day execution of work? Great teams focus on the process and not just the work. The work is merely a byproduct of a far more interesting conversation of how the team can work together to do more. Think of the Indy 500. Sure the pit crew is excited to see the car go around the track but ALL the conversation is how to make the car go FASTER around the track. Is your team driving in circles or scheming how to win the race? The third marker of a great team is continuous improvement of execution. It’s like a drug to top teams, where can we get more (efficiency) and how can we get higher (as in effectiveness)?
4. The team focuses on ‘the score’ - by this, I mean that the highest functioning teams see, know and react to the score. I often refer to football here. Modern day stadiums seem to compete with one another to make the most outrageously gigantic scoreboard. Why don’t our teams do that? Strong teams know the results, take ownership of them and then passionately debate better ways to win. It’s one thing to know your team is winning or losing, it’s a completely different thing to care. Watch the sidelines in the Superbowl next year and notice which players rise up to assume leadership to coach and encourage other players on the bench when the chips are down. Ownership of the team’s results is the fourth marker that indicates a healthy team. 

So do you have those markers...in abundance? I know in the three minutes you’ve invested in this post that you’ve been analyzing your team. Recall that I said your team needs to both possess these markers now AND they need to be maintaining or increasing in visibility. Even having all four markers but seeing them wane is a sign of danger. That means there’s a problem coming, the onset of a disease called complacency.

If you’re like most teams, you may see one, two or even three of the markers but if you’re really honest (after all, ignorance has proven to be a poor wellness strategy) you might see one missing or a marker that’s fading. You need to act and you need to act fast. That’s where I can help. It’s time to get the patient to the doctor. Get the team behind closed doors, share the four markers and let them tell you what symptoms they’re experiencing. It’s the same method your doctor uses before prescribing any expensive tests, they calmly sit and ask what the patient is experiencing. They listen. From here you can devise a treatment plan that might just save your team’s life!

For more help in diagnosing your team’s health and creating a treatment plan, check out my new book Superpower: Release the Potential in Your Team. You’ll find 12 action steps to put your team on the path to health and success. 

About the Author: Mark Frezell helps teams find their greatness. He coaches teams at levels to take full ownership of the team experience, unleash their full potential and reach new levels of productivity, pride and results. He also works individually with leaders to learn the winning mindset and process that transforms every team they lead! Learn more at www.MarkFrezell.com