Leadership lessons: The best teams are not the best all of the time

What I’ve learnt from this AFL finals series is that the best team is not necessarily the best team all the time.

They may be the best team at the start of a game. Or the middle. They may even be behind for much of it.

What really matters is two things:

• They don’t get too far behind.

• They can be the best team when the game is on the line.

Commentators and critics are quick to say that teams need to be switched on all the time. That's hopeful but I’m not sure that’s realistic in today's climate and mode of doing things.

When I think about some of the great teams I’ve led or worked in, they weren’t great all the time either. The circumstances didn’t allow it.

There were setbacks. Pressure. Unexpected events. Periods when things simply weren’t working.

What mattered was that when the stakes were high and the time was non-negotiable, the team could find another gear and the individuals worked for each other.

So perhaps we need to think differently about how we judge the capability of a team.

Not just by how well it is performing right now, but by how capable it is of responding when things stop going well.

High-performing teams aren’t necessarily the teams that perform brilliantly all the time.

They are teams that:

• Bring complementary skills and experience together.

• Are united by a demanding performance challenge.

• Are disciplined about the basics — goals, roles, standards, approach and accountability.

• Hold each other accountable, not just the leader.

• Draw on the insights and capabilities of people across the team when things get tough.

• Adapt quickly when circumstances change.

• Recognise when something isn’t working and aren’t afraid to change it.

• Can reinvent themselves when the situation demands it.

Reinventing the purpose and functioning of the team is difficult to achieve quickly when the pressure is on, but it can be the most critical factor to team success.

As we know, work teams don’t operate in a steady state either.

They have good days and bad days. Periods when everything seems to click. Times when pressure mounts and things don’t go to plan.

The temptation for leaders is to judge a team by what they can see right now, a point in time performance assessment.

But before judgement, perhaps the more important leadership consideration is:

Whether the leaders are building teams with the capability to respond when things go wrong? Because that's the team capability organisations most need in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

Can they adapt when circumstances change?

Can they stay focused when things get messy?

Can they learn quickly from what isn’t working?

Can they stay engaged when the momentum shifts?

And can they make the changes necessary to perform when it matters most?

Teamwork involves building a team that can adapt, recover, learn and find its best when it matters. The best teams are the ones that can find their best when the game or task demands it. May the best team (at the end) win!