The Best Team Experience Report : simplebooklet.com

Introduction This report provides a summary of data collected through surveys and interviews about what describes the best team experience a person has had either leading or being part of a team Also included is public survey data collected in answer to the question What does joy in the workplace mean to you This is part of a larger research effort to understand what having joy at work means and how to grow joy at work see our Joy Research Statement The primary focus of this summary is the data collected from one on one interviews between 2012 2019 We interviewed nine leadership teams and held 63 individual interviews The interviews were done using an exercise we developed based on Positive Psychology the effect of positive events and influences in life and the concept of fear versus attraction in leading change The concept of fear versus attraction in leading change came to us from a 2012 recorded interview between Daryl Conner and Peter Meyer Daryl Conner is a Change Management luminary and the inventor of the well known burning platform Change concept Peter Meyer is a management consultant author and lecturer specializing in the field of building new markets In this conversation Daryl Conner interviews Peter Meyer about his perspective on the difference between leading change using fear versus attraction As Peter explains when you use attraction to motivate people to change this is movement toward something and usually movement for personal gain or something that works for them By contrast fear is about freezing in place or movement only to the extent my boss told me to move Attraction is internally motivated fear is externally motivated Attraction is about building something fear is about avoiding something Using attraction gives people the opportunity to self motivate and be internally driven to grow People move fast and well when they re moving from the inside he explains This rings true in our experience When we ve witnessed the use of fear as a tactic to make people change they react by getting quiet keeping their head down and doing what they re told to do and only what they re told to do The 2 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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content of conversations is narrowed down to only what they perceive as safe From time to time they pick their head up look around to see what s happening and confirm they doing what they should be doing and what s safe given the current climate They usually only do what s necessary to survive the situation nothing more nothing less In contrast when we ve seen attraction used to lead people to change people seek to connect their work to the vision that s communicated If they can make that connection they will contribute their unique talents to make it happen The content of conversations is more expansive sometimes bringing possibilities forward that might be considered controversial but for the sake of looking at the problem from different angles and finding new ways of doing things that might be better for that moment They dedicate their discretionary time to invent new solutions because they are enjoying the work itself and see it as additive to their life rather than a required work obligation Inspired by this interview and the fear versus attraction concept we created an exercise we call Imagine it The goal of the exercise is for a leader and their leadership team to imagine how they want their team to behave ideally and in a way that will make the team successful In other words they identify the ideal team culture based on their collective best experience of the ideal The team culture vision is created by recalling the best team experience each interviewee has had in the past and then using that as an overlay to recognize what from that experience would benefit their current team the most This exercise is intended to draw the leadership team to a common vision they own together and that they re motivated to make happen A very important aspect of the exercise is for the interviewee to stay in the positive mindset and answer with positively oriented responses as opposed to critiquing their current team This is not easy to do because most work conversations invite critique and judgement mindsets for the purpose of solving problems avoiding risks or making improvements A worker s mind is trained to perform critique habits or critical thinking to contribute value to their organization Further critique is often seen evaluated and even rewarded in performance reviews as being smart again reinforcing the critique habit For the purpose of the exercise critique is not constructive because it closes The Best Team Experience Report 3 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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possibilities Focusing on what s wrong is often constructive for work conversations but in this case it tends to cause a group to feel shame judged defensive and powerless to change Instead staying in the positive mindset expands possibilities and allows a vision of the ideal to come into view that s based on the group s real grounded experience Lessons Learned We ve learned several lessons since we began using this exercise with leadership teams and have refined and committed to our current process as a result In one case the leadership team we interviewed was especially interested in adopting a new set of mission statements and calls to action from the head of their division To address this we added questions at the beginning of the survey that asked what the division was already doing in support of the mission statements and calls to action and what they weren t doing yet This led to very specific tactics and business goal statements in the Imagine It survey answers and made the vision more goal oriented rather than culture and behavior oriented This was a lot less motivating to the leadership team The lesson was to keep the Imagine It interview sessions separate and distinct from efforts to achieve other goals even though the goals may seem complementary or similar In another case we asked the interviewees to answer questions about their personal preferences for example what keeps you interested in your work and what contribution would you most like to make to the team The intention was to understand the interviewee s personal connection to the work This made the Imagine it survey answers too individually focused instead of focused solely on the team culture Again the lesson was to keep interview sessions separate from efforts to achieve other goals And finally in one case we did allow the interviewees to share critique of the current team This is because the interviewees had a strong culture of critique and did not understand the significance of staying in a positive mindset to create a team culture vision The lesson was to give the interviewees a background summary of Positive Psychology and related outcomes that 4 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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illustrate the intention of the positive mindset technique Another lesson was to make it clear at the start of the interview conversation that the interviewer will bring the interviewee back to the positive mindset when necessary and that only the positive mindset comments will be shared with the other interviewees While it s tempting for the sake of efficiency to combine efforts or relax the process the efficacy of the exercise is diminished and the result is a vision to which a leadership team is less committed Applicability Myth Upon hearing a phrase like The Best Team Experience or even Joy at Work many people believe that you can only have this experience at work when a company is not under stress In our experience the exact opposite is true Companies that are not under stress or whose leadership team believes they have a good culture become complacent about creating the conditions where employees can thrive and do their best work Later they are surprised when their people report they don t feel their work is connected to the mission and the symptoms of complacency emerge On the flipside organizations that are under stress often use the stress as a catalyst or motivator to change the culture to something that causes the team to thrive They convey a vision that s inspiring and unify because it comes across as urgent and authentic People begin to step into the ideal culture behaviors when over time leadership demonstrates these behaviors and people experience safety to act in these ways They key difference between these two situations is not necessarily the stress the organization is experiencing Joy can be present whether the organization is under stress or not The difference is the organization is being intentional about the team culture and keeping pressure on evolving the work environment to keep people thriving What s Next This is the first version of this report What s not yet included here is survey The Best Team Experience Report 5 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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data collected between 2009 2019 that s focused on what makes an engaged and successful team Given the volume of data this will take time to compile and will be included in the next version of this report What s also not in this report is the interview data we re currently collecting through interviews of CEOs and senior leaders about what Joy at Work means to them and how that manifests in the organizations they lead This project began in January 2020 and continues into 2021 We share updates on our research progress in quarterly webinars that are open to the public If you would like to contribute to the research please take The Best Team Experience research survey that s on our Joy Research page and please share it with others 6 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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Interview Questions These questions are asked in the Imagine It exercise Questions 1 Think about the best experience you ve ever had leading a team or being part of a team What words describe what that was like 2 What was happening that made it that way 3 What did you and the team accomplish because of all that was happening 4 With your best team experience in mind what would be great if it were true for your current team 5 If you had your wish what 1 2 things would you like to apply to your current team 6 With this in mind describe what success looks like for your current team by completing this sentence I ll know we re truly working together toward successful outcomes when 7 What must be true to make this happen 8 Whose help will you need to make this happen 9 How would this vision get you what you need The Best Team Experience Report 7 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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Best Team Experience Themes Between 2012 2019 nine leadership teams were interviewed The answers below are the consolidated themes from the 63 individual interviews The first three questions are focused on recalling an experience in the past 1 Think about the best experience you ve ever had leading a team or being part of a team What words describe what that was like Most frequent words and phrases given Collaborative and cohesive Fun a lot of laughing friendly Hard working determined to overcome obstacles focused impactful Excited about what we were doing motivating energizing Listening empathizing supportive helped each other Healthy respect constructive debates open and honest Creative innovative inventive Clear communication Clear goals common goals Empowered accountable ownership Rewarding fulfilling satisfying pride in our work Unified and interdependent Rapport comradery confidence in each other 2 What was happening that made it that way Most frequent answer themes Alignment to Purpose We had a clear purpose clear objectives and clear deadlines that everyone understood and aligned to We knew what was expected We knew why the goal mattered Role Clarity Each person understood their role and how it fit into the big picture We understood the role of everyone on the team Team Support We helped each other in a way that was respectful selfless and didn t step on each other s toes We gave each other room to take a 8 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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break and recharge We were willing to forgive failures because everyone assumed everyone else was doing the best they could We looked for ways to work together We stayed connected and shared information Leader Support Leaders encouraged us and cheered us on Their encouragement was specific and meaningful They were tuned into what we were doing talked about how it was impacting the company and constantly reminded us why it mattered They empowered us to get the job done Managing Concerns When someone had a problem they brought it up and we talked about it We debated in a way that brought out the best in people and did not diminish silence or demoralize anyone There was no blaming martyrdom grandstanding cover ups gas lighting or fear of reprisals We focused on evaluating the risk as objectively as possible and solving the problem so the team could succeed Focus We were determined to reach the goal We noticed the gaps and jumped in to address them We measured and tracked our progress We did our best work Decision making We made decisions and moved forward We didn t dwell in the problems Team Attitude We believed we could accomplish the goal even though it sometimes seemed impossible We rallied when it got difficult We were all in it together We had a positive attitude There was joy in the work Adaptability We had limited time and resources so we had to be creative We looked at things in a new way We considered different approaches and new moves We brought out the best ideas and made constant improvements We weren t afraid to change course if that was better Celebrating Accomplishments The accomplishments were seen as shared success and we celebrated together We were excited for each other and the team s success Team Relationships Over time we grew to understand each other and felt comfortable with each other We generally liked each other We made connections beyond the work We made lifelong friends 3 What did you and the team accomplish because of all that was happening Most frequent words and phrases given We beat the competition The Best Team Experience Report 9 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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We surprised everyone in a good way We got the results we wanted Everyone outside the team wanted to know how we did it We got things into production and launched quicker than I ve ever experienced We failed in the right way because we learned from it and improved quickly We stayed on target We made decisions faster and got really good work done faster We were able to manage the ups and downs that happened daily We produced high quality work I learned so much and now I use many of the same techniques and approaches with my current teams The next three questions explore how this experience could be applied to the interviewee s current team 4 With your best team experience in mind what would be great if it were true for your current team Most frequent answer themes The team would have more autonomy and empowerment to make decisions The team would be encouraged to take risks and find innovative ways to solve problems We would celebrate milestones and important accomplishments and create excitement about what we re doing The team would understand how the work contributes to the mission and why it matters We would build pride of ownership and pride in the impact we re having on the company We would have a set of guiding principles for the team that are motivating and we all feel committed to We would have clear goals and make those goals visibly present with us every day We would understand how we are measuring progress There would be space for every team member s voice and ideas to be heard Feedback would be more constructive and useful so we re always learning and improving 10 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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5 If you had your wish what 1 2 things from your best experience would you most like to apply to your current team Most frequent answer themes We would understand the big picture and understand how it connects to the company s health financials and future We would be aligned and anchored to the shared goals milestones and detailed timelines We would give more space for everyone s voice on the team We would listen to each other and encourage each other to give their perspective We would be comfortable with energized debate We would have more autonomy to act and empowerment to make decisions We would have more passionate ownership and accountability on the team We would be more authentic with each other We would try succeed or fail learn and try again We would give people permission to try to do things in a different way We would create and respect work life boundaries so people can take a break from work We would look for ways to support each other 6 With this in mind describe what success looks like for your current team by completing this sentence I ll know we re truly working together toward successful outcomes when Most frequent answer themes Leader Team Interaction Leaders get the information they need from the team so they re informed and encouraged to participate in a way that helps the team make progress Team Empowerment People act as if they re empowered to make decisions Team Interaction We speak openly and collaborate to solve problems We brainstorm and bring forward new ideas We debate and listen to each other We make offers to help each other We elevate each other Roles We respect each other s roles skills and expertise We easily share information with each other so people can succeed in their roles The Best Team Experience Report 11 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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Team Attitude We have a passion for what we re doing and a passion for doing great work Adaptability We re open to trying new things When we fail we learn and make adaptive moves Risk Management We raise issues early and balance them against our larger goal We pay attention to obstacles and work together to overcome them We believe we can achieve big things while being realistic about how to get there Team Alignment We seek to stay aligned When asked people generally say the same thing about our purpose and goals of our team We think as one and don t let our individual interests get in the way Celebrating We elevate each other We celebrate so that the mood of the team constantly improves The last three questions explore what it would take to make the vision from question 6 happen on the interviewee s current team 7 What must be true to make this vision happen Most frequent answer themes We need clear roles and responsibilities for everyone We need openness and candor from everyone I need to hold myself accountable and encourage that in others We need a safe way for us to be vulnerable and open with each other We need a safe way to admit mistakes and solve problems together We need more resources more time We need support from each other to live the vision 8 Whose help would you need to make this happen Most frequent answer themes My leadership team The functional area leads Influential members of the team My direct reports The senior executives Department leads Practice leads 12 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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The leaders across the company Specific names were often given The names were removed and responses were made generic for this report 9 How would this vision get you what you need Most frequent answer themes It gets people in the right roles and mindset It gives us a shared goal something big to strive for together It s a big goal for the whole team The vision is encouraging and motivating I want my team to feel that too This gives us more focus on innovating and making it okay to change the way we do things It gives us the ability and motivation to move faster that isn t pushed on the team It s great to see the vision written down I want this The Best Team Experience Report 13 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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Conclusion This data is shared to provide a new lens to view team interactions and what s possible when team culture is managed with purpose and intention The hope is that this work inspires new efforts to create and sustain the cultures that support a thriving workforce In this report we do not interpret the data or draw conclusions from it This is deliberate Interpretations from this and other aspects of the Joy Research can be found in other publications Joy at Work eBook Joy at Work Self Reflection Guide The content and design of these workshops are also based on the research Joy at Work Journeys Professional development visioning to make career path decisions that bring joy now and in the future Joy at Work Stories Leader Team stories and conversations about what joy at work means to strengthen connections and build relationships The Joy Research is ambitious both in the scope of the research and specificity of the tools that can be used as organizational interventions The motivation of the researchers based on their corporate experience and now consulting experience drives this scope Success is possible but it doesn t seem to come from incremental changes Instead a new point of view is necessary for leaders to take on to achieve the level of success that will drive economies forward and make improvements to the lives of people more broadly If this research can point the way to that goal then the energy spent will have been well worth it The Best Team Experience Report 15 T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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Change Joy Teams can grow joy by experiencing change together In fact the research tells us that a struggle can bring team members together and can be the best experiences people have at work It s about how We offer these courses that apply Joy Research to change in the workplace The Savvy Change Leader Change Leadership development Change Joy in the Workplace Change Management Certification Change Analytics Concentration Measuring change progress using data analytics techniques Personal Change Joy Managing personal change 16 The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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About The Change Decision We are a change and culture company focused on Joy at Work Roxanne Brown CEO and Co Founder is a renowned change expert with more than 20 years of experience in technology policy and culture change and related disciplines She s also the former global President of the Board of the Association of Change Management Professionals ACMP Ed Cook President and Co Founder is an experienced leader of teams and large organizations He s a former Navy pilot who spent a year in Iraq nation building Ed s also a Visiting Professor at the University of Richmond and has his PhD in Systems Modeling and Analysis LinkedIn Instagram Medium YouTube thechangedecision joyatworker ed cook roxanne brown thechangedecision com The Best Team Experience Report T H E C H A N G E D E C IS IO N 2 0 1 6 2 0 2 1

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