Business Book Summary: "Unstoppable Teams"

The Four Essential Actions of High-Performance Leadership"

By Alden Mills

Most of the comments included in the following text are taken word for word for the book

Introduction

“Developing the qualities of an unstoppable team is essential if you want to thrive in chaos and break away from the pack…Caring is the cornerstone for building trust and persistence in any group. When people feel cared for and when they care about the tasks and goals at hand, they are willing to step beyond their perceived limits and due to do something greater than they originally thought possible”. (pg ix)

It’s about a “full, authentic commitment” to putting others ahead of you.

“If you want to become a great team builder, then you need to learn to become a great relationship builder first. It starts with you.”  (pg xii)th you.”  (pg xii)

Chapter 1 “Your Platform”

In order to effectively lead oneself there must be a conversation between your head and your heart. How you handle that conversation gets “amplified” when you lead a team. When you as a leader focus your attention on the bigger picture your team will gain some perspective and respond accordingly.  (pg 8)

Focus on yourself, what you lack or don’t have and you’ll “get stuck “. But focus on what you need to accomplish and you’ll “become unstoppable.”  (pg 9) Your actions are mirrored back to your team, and your actions are result of conversation between head and heart.

Acknowledge the conversation going on inside your head (we can’t win, it’s cold. etc.) and redirect your attention and your team’s to the “larger principles, values and aspirations that matter the most.”  (pg 16)

It is essential to understand “why” “you care about overcoming the obstacle is your most powerful weapon”, (pg 29) When you equate that “why” to individuals, like family members or friends, your “why” more powerful.

Chapter 2 “Finding Unstoppables”

“All great teams are made up of people with complementary skills and strengths.” (pg 37). President Lincoln provides a great example of a leader who welcomed diversity of thought in his cabinet…he had political rivals on his team. Lincoln’s “true genius came from his ability to build relationships – to form teams that represented the diverse spectrum of thoughts and beliefs held by the American people.” (pg 50). “By surrounding yourself with familiarity you will inadvertently make yourself blind to other points of view”  (pg 49)

The author lists 7 traits that characterize unstoppable teammates:

1.     Competence -” curiosity to learn new skills and develop mastery of new subjects…great teams are learning machines…you want to select teammates as much for how they think as for what they can do.”

2.     Perspective

3.     Communication

4.     Drive – “a can-do spirit…if they lack drive, then they are worse than useless to the team; they are dangerous in that they can infect other team members with mediocrity and negativity” (pg 56)

5.     Humility – when interviewing someone ask them to talk about their biggest failure. If they say “I guess I’ve just been lucky because I’ve never failed. Or I haven’t failed but I’ve been around other who have”, you’re dealing with someone who isn’t humble. Patrick Lencioni in “The Ideal Team Player” says humility is one of the top three must-haves for a team player.

6.     Flexibility – “openness to new perspectives”

7.     Selflessness

Chapter 3 “Connect”

“No matter what industry you work in or what position you hold, your success depends on your ability to build human relationships. At the center of relationship building is empathy – the ability to place yourself in your colleagues’ shoes, to understand their point of view or, more important, their feelings.”  (pg 70)

A Gallup survey entitled “US Employee Engagement” found that nearly 66% of the US workforce isn’t engaged and even worse is that 16% are actively disengaged. On the flipside, 60% of people who work for engaged leaders are engaged. So how do you engage with people? Engagement isn’t about reviewing their work or giving them deadlines. It isn’t a stop and go process. Engagement requires constant attention and “knowing each of your teammates as individuals.”  (pg 73)

“What does it mean to deeply connect with others? It means you must bring curiosity, authenticity, and candor, a willingness to listen, and above all else a consistency to your intent to build connections. You need to connect and collaborate with your team members – to understand their worries, fears and perceived limitations and then collaborate with them to overcome challenges.”  (pg 75)

Leaders gain the trust of their team through; 1) communication, 2) credibility, and 3) commitment

Communication: most of our communication is through body language. “Time, money, and inventory get managed, processes and projects need to be managed to. But not people. They want to be seen for who they are; they want to be recognized to their superpowers; they want to contribute; they want to be led, liked, and yes, even loved.”  (pg 81)

Effective communication requires using feelings for connecting with people. “At the heart of connecting emotionally with others is curiosity.”  (pg 82) If you’re genuinely curious then you must listen intently…don’t pretend to listen – it’s too easy to spot. “Active listening is listening with the intent to understand.” (pg 84)

Credibility: reliability, acting with integrity and holding themselves accountable for their actions are critical elements of credibility. “You must earn your credibility every day by consistent and committed action.” (pg 86) “You are not allowed to place blame on others. It is an important shift in mind-set that requires you to look-out for others, not just yourself” (pg 88) Praise others on the team and point criticism at yourself.

Commitment: “If you’re erratic in your actions, people won’t know who you are.”  (pg 93)

Chapter 4 “Achieve”

“Teams exist for one reason: to achieve results…The leader’s role is to help team members see well beyond the visible horizon and find ways to surpass real and/or imagined limitations.”  (pgs 97 & 98)

Effective leaders do the following to help their teams achieve the desired results:

• Aspire – believe that they can accomplish the task. You must be authentic in articulating a reason why people should believe in your goal(s). Continually reminding the team of the importance of their work reinforces their dedication to achieving the goal(s).
• Assume – give the team the space, resources and confidence to do their jobs. Don’t assume the team can’t achieve the goal…may lead to a self-fulfilling prophesy.
• Assess – generate performance assessments frequently and transparently. When assessing the team’s performance don’t fall into the trap of focusing on an individual’s performance rather than the team’s.
• Assure – encourage and assure the team of their purpose and progress. It’s a never-ending process.
• Appreciate – show enthusiasm and gratitude for the team’s and individual’s efforts

“By creating aspirational goals, by assuming the best of your team, by assessing team progress without making the mistakes and interim failures personal, by assuring the team that they can take on unheard-of tasks, and finally by appreciating their commitment and progress, you make an environment for your teammates to perform at the highest levels.” (pg 107)

Chapter 5 “Respect”

Respect from within and outside the team must be earned. The author identifies 3 elements of Respect: 1) Realize – “respect comes from two places – your authority and your actions (the latter is far more valuable); 2) Recognize – leaders must recognize “and bring forth and acknowledge the super powers of each of their teammates. (pg 127); and 3) Require – respect isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a requirement for effective teams.

“If your actions don’t support an environment of respect, you can’t hope to create an unstoppable team. Unfortunately, many leaders hide behind their authority and use it as an excuse not to follow-up on their promises.” (pg 127)

According to the author of a study of over 20,000 people “when it comes to garnering commitment and engagement from employees, there is one thing that leaders need to demonstrate: Respect…Shockingly, this research found that more than half (54%) of the participants reported they don’t receive regular respect from their leaders. The study showed a direct link between respect and engagement.” (pg 137)

“The greater care you show as a leader, the greater the care your players (and teammates) will show for the team’s goals.” (pg 143)

“A team leader’s responsibility is not only to build trust and set direction, but also to create an environment of mutual respect, so teammates feel free to voice their opinions, debate options, and ultimately take actions without fear or ridicule...”  (pg 149)

Chapter 6 “Empower”: “To empower people is to give them responsibility and authority…Giving people the authority to make decisions without being forced to check in with the boss for approval opens the way for them to start thinking for themselves as owners and employees.”  (pg 155)

“Empowerment isn’t a task you can check off your list or test on paper; it develops over time and depends on creating an environment where every person on the team shares lessons learned and feels a responsibility to coach and support other team members’ growth.”  (pg 156)

Employee education should be through 1) in-house informal training via lessons learned, best practices etc.; 2) external formal training; and 3) on-the-job training. “Education is the first step in empowering people to go beyond the expected, but it requires active engagement from the leader.”  (pg 161)

Chapter 7 “Activating the 10X Advantage”

The author identifies 5 stages in the transformation of a team of individuals into an unstoppable team.

Phase 1: “Connected Group” – the leader does most of the talking and speaks in terms of “I” and “me”. Leaders often micromanage in this stage while those being managed focus mainly on managing up.

Phase 2 “Directed Group” – group starts to turn attention towards attainment of goals. Goals are set by leader. “Telling someone to do something is not leading: it’s managing” Fear of failure is high in Directed Groups because of authoritarian leader. (pg 189)

Phase 3 “Respected Team” – at this stage individual team members are beginning to feel “emotionally connected” to each other. “They have started to feel intellectually invested in the group’s progress towards achieving their goals.” The leader has begun to shift to less authoritarian and is beginning to seek advice from the group. Plus, the leader has begun listening more and talking less

Phase 4 “Empowered Team” – at this stage the team is beginning to “harness the collective focus and efforts of the entire team. The leader has transferred decision making to the team. Selfless “action is commonplace…Communication is candid; empathy is the rule.

Phase 5 “The 10X Advantage (AKA the Unstoppable Team) – the team’s reputation is well known and the leader is humble, honest and warm.