The Power Habits of Highly Productive Teams

The Power Habits!“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” - African proverb

As a leader, you want a highly productive team. But what habits separate highly productive teams from average teams—or worse, non-productive teams?

Imagine you’re getting in your car to take a cross-country trip. Your car is simply a highly sophisticated system of interactive, moving parts designed to help you reach your goals (your destination) faster.

Your team is like a car.

Your company’s goals are the destination you’re going for.

Your team is a system of interactive, moving parts called human beings.

So how can you, as the leader, get all those parts working together in harmony to reach a common goal—rather than breaking down by the side of the road?

Having coached executives and teams for the last two decades—and helping both individuals and teams reach their goals up to 300% faster—I’ve identified what I now call The Power Habits of Highly Productive Teams.

Here then are the top 3 Power Habits® of Highly Productive Teams:

Power Habit #1: Clearly Communicate The Goal.

As a leader, you must clearly communicate WHERE you want the team to go.

To continue the driving analogy, if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know how to get there?

How will you know when you’re off course? How will you know whether you’re making good decisions or poor decisions with regard to your destination?

Without a clear understanding and communication of WHERE you want to go, your team doesn’t have much of a chance to succeed.

Power Habit #2: Clearly Define The Why.

Just as it’s vital to know WHERE you’re going, it’s even more crucial to know WHY you’re going there.

For example, numerous studies show that if your only goal is “to increase profits,” it simply won’t be enough to motivate all of your team members.

This is particularly true of Millennials and Gen Z, who, numerous studies show, are more driven by mission than by money.

Why do you want to reach that goal?

That’s an important question.

Just as important, however, is why your people want to be part of your team.

Remember that not everyone is motivated by the same thing.

The word motivated comes from the Latin word movere which means “to move.”

It has the same root as the word motor.

Meaning, if you don’t find what motivates your team members, you won’t have access to the motor that drives them.

Power Habit #3: Align your training with your team’s biggest challenges and opportunities.

Whether you’re a leader in business, sports, or non-profit, there will always be challenges to reaching your goals.

Therefore, once you understand where you’re going and why you want to get there, the third Power Habit® of Highly Productive Teams is to align your training with the challenges standing between you and your goal.

For example, common challenges that our training programs focus on include:

✔ Accountability

✔ Leadership

✔ Decision-making

✔ Communication

✔ Teamwork

✔ Collaboration

Just like you wouldn’t put diesel in a gas-powered engine, you want to give your team members the right training to suit your goals and motivations.

That’s why it’s important to identify the skills and habits that you’re good at, as well as potential weaknesses, so you can overcome what’s standing between you and your goals.

When you begin to adopt these Power Habits® of Highly Productive Teams, you’ll discover that you’re better able to more quickly overcome the challenges you’re facing, as well as take advantage of more opportunities. See my interview with Ray Higdon about Power Habits.