The Team Model

Teams and organizations are facing more complicated and complex challenges than ever before. In a reality that changes from moment to moment and with constant noise, the organization and the team are required to frequently adapt and change their methods of dealing with the tasks assigned to them in order to meet their goals and achieve results.

The LEAD Team Model helps maximize the potential of the team through the practice of four foundations of team leadership:

L.E.A.D – Listening, Executing, Analyzing, Dreaming

Managing Teams in a World of Noise

In order to understand the managerial and leadership challenges that organizations and teams face in a chaotic reality, the VUCA and BANI models developed in recent decades can be used to describe the world and create a solution in an unpredictable and complex reality.

In the world of VUCA, reality is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous in a way that the connections between cause and effect are no longer clear.

BANI was developed as a complementary model to VUCA and also refers to the inner-emotional reality that the chaotic world produces. The model emphasizes reality, both internal and external is Brittle, full of Anxiety, Nonlinear and Incomprehensible in the internal and external reality.

The reality of VUCA and BANI produces noise that distracts the organization and the team from their main tasks. The noise is external and internal, and originates both in the world outside the organization and the team and also within and among the team members.

The team LEAD model was developed to identify and understand the effects of noise on the team, and to build team resilience and organizational growth.

The Effects of Noise on Teamwork

Lack of clarity – in a reality characterized by ambiguity and lack of clarity, difficulties arise in understanding and clarifying the team’s targets, expectations and goals in a way that can increase the feelings of uncertainty and confusion and harm the realization of the team’s main tasks.

Difficulties in communication – such a reality also intensifies the difficulties in team communication, and exacerbates misunderstandings, conflicts and a lack of coordination between team members.

Limited resources – a fluctuating and non-linear reality may result in unplanned allocation of resources, in a way that may make it difficult for the team to achieve its goals within the desired time frame or with the necessary quality.

Differences in skill levels – a non-linear reality makes it difficult to identify differences in skill, ability and expertise levels in the team, in a way that may hinder progress towards goals.

Resistance to change – a reality characterized by fragility and anxiety strengthens the human tendency to resist change. Significant resistance to change interferes with creative thinking in the team and harms its ability to achieve its challenging goals.

Commitment challenges in a world characterized by uncertainty make it increasingly difficult to maintain team members’ motivation and commitment over time, especially when the team faces significant challenges or failures, which are now an inseparable part of reality.

 

The model presents an in-depth diagnostic profile of the team leadership foundations – L.E.A.D. – Listening, Executing, Analyzing, Dreaming

The leadership foundations are the team muscles that need to be developed, strengthened and balanced, to enable the teams to act out of awareness, choice and personal responsibility.

The LEAD team profile makes it possible for the team and managers to look boldly and deeply at the anchors, breach areas, the team’s beneficial and ineffective behaviors, helps to sharpen awareness regarding relationships in the team, deepen empathy and listening, increase team resilience in the reality of noise and hone the creative and executive muscles in the team.

The team LEAD profile consists of —

4
Team Behavior Foundations
6
Team Behavior Spaces
5
Growth Levers
12
Beneficial Behaviors
12
Shadow Behaviors

4 Team Behavior Foundations

Listening
An ability the team needs in order to create intimacy and a real connection between the team members themselves and with their environment. Listening in the team allows members to create trust, and to motivate the team effectively, out of empathy and attention focused on others.

Executing
An ability needed in order to meet challenging goals, create ambitious goals, and achieve desired results. Setting challenging goals and meeting them contributes to the development of the organization and encourages growth.

Analyzing
The ability to plan, pay attention to the smallest details, go deeper, manage in a didactic and systematic manner, act according to procedures, raise a red flag when required, and manage coherently in view of the organization’s goals and objectives.

Dreaming
A skill that allows the team to create outside the box solutions and deal with renewing environments. This skill is also associated with teams that initiate changes and sweep the entire organization after them.

6 Team Behavior Spaces

Each of the team spaces includes a pair of essentially different behaviors, moving on a common team axis.

Deepening the observation of the relationship between team behaviors, allows the team to increase their range of action, and diversify and expand their options for dealing with organizational challenges.

Team core
Moves along the axis between the team’s ability to act decisively in favor of achieving goals and objectives versus the team’s ability to show attention and understanding to the needs of the team members and create trust between them.

Decision making style
Moves along the axis between the team’s conscientiousness to make decisions and their commitment to them, and between the team’s conscientiousness towards its people, in such a way that the involvement of team members is maintained and team members have the ability to influence.

Conflict management
The team’s ability to tolerate confrontations and conflicts between team members, as well as to be open and consider the positions of others.

Problem Solving
The team’s ability to work in a systematic and structured manner versus the ability to be comfortable with improvisation and creativity.

Perception of change
The team’s ability to manage risks in a calculated and careful manner alongside the ability to challenge reality and initiate changes when necessary.

Dealing with difficulty
The team’s ability to conduct themselves in a relaxed manner, and to act in a balanced and rational manner compared to the ability of the team to externalize emotions and show enthusiasm and passion for action.

5 Growth Levers

The growth levers describe the way balance or imbalance is reflected in the way the team handles each of the spaces.

Anchor Space
This team space is obtained when the two team behaviors representing the space are used optimally, and neither has an ineffective expression in extreme situations (shadow).

Dominant Space
This team space is obtained when the two behaviors that represent the space are in high use, but at least one of the behaviors is expressed in a way that is not effective in extreme situations (shadow).

Unbalanced Space
A team space that is obtained when the two behaviors representing the space are not balanced. There is more optimal use of one behavior, and less use of another behavior.

Balanced Space
A team space that is obtained when the two behaviors representing the space are balanced but partially expressed.

Exposed Space
A team space that results when the behaviors that represent the space are underutilized.

Shadow behaviors

Shadow behaviors
An extreme expression of the team’s beneficial behaviors, which usually appear in stressful situations. Each beneficial behavior is matched with a shadow behavior that describes behavior that is not effective.