Competence: your team code

Teams are made up of individuals, but how they work together as a team makes a huge difference to performance. But what is that secret code of skills and behaviour that are going to make the team really work well together? That's what we're looking at this week; the last of the three Cs: competence.

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[00:00:00] Pia: Teams are made up of individuals, but how they work together as a team makes a huge difference to performance. But what is that secret code of skills and behavior that are gonna make the team really work well together? That's what we're looking at this week, the last of the three Cs competence. I'm Pia.

[00:00:19] Dan: And I'm Dan, and this is Squadify Connects.

[00:00:22] Competence covers all aspects of the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of your team. Think of it as what the individuals get up to as part of this team, but there's one of these that leads them all when it comes to team performance, and that's behavior.

[00:00:38] Pia: Now, of course, individuals need knowledge and skills. People are often hired for those attributes. But it is their behaviors that will either lead to problems, friction, and potentially a few headaches or alternatively, wonderful teamwork. People often say that someone has an attitude problem, but actually this is a behavioral issue. You can't see attitudes.

[00:01:02] Dan: Yeah, if you imagine there's an an iceberg with a person's attitudes, beliefs, values, et cetera, under the waterline, it's the behaviors that are visible above the waterline, that little bit that pops up. To give it a stricter definition, behaviors are the things that people say and do and how they say and do them.

[00:01:21] Pia: So high performing teams get really, really clear on the expectations of their behaviors. So your experiment this week is to work with your team to agree your code. What do you expect of each other in terms of behaviors? These behaviors should be those that create the right climate and deliver on the clarity that you've.

[00:01:43] Dan: Yeah. Two points to note. First, focus on the behaviors that will lead to a strong team. Um, what behaviors do you expect of each other rather than those that you show while working independently? And secondly, make sure that good old bias doesn't creep in. We don't want everyone to be like us.

[00:02:00] Pia: Strangely. People really struggle with this sometimes. So here's a little tip. Start with the behaviors that you do not want, and then just flip them to the opposite. This is sometimes called below the line behavior, which isn't okay. And alternatively, above the line behaviors, which are the ones that we're aiming for. This just might help give a different perspective for you and the team. So enjoy your experiment. See you next week for some top tips from across these three Cs for thriving in hybrid.