+++ Read more about the Sirius Patrol in Greenland at the end of the article +++
Today we introduce the 7 Bases Team Framework.
The framework connects 7 elements of thriving and high performing teams, in a flexible and meaningful way. It is a structure that creates space for the emotions a team experiences, and it fosters the debate that teams must have. The team can dynamically toggle between different topics and questions when it is needed. Not when it is prescribed in a rigid “script”.
INTRODUCING THE 7 BASES FRAMEWORK.
To make team development more dynamic, we suggest to see this challenge as a “field” where the 7 interlinked bases each represent a vital theme that teams must cover. Only then is it possible to fully thrive and high perform. If a base is not covered, the team feels that “something is missing”, and team collaboration and performance stay below its full potential. In this version of the framework, we have included some of the vital questions that teams need to work on in each base.
The 7 Bases Framework emerged from the work we do with executive and functional teams in pharma, logistics, banking, technology and with SMEs. These teams each had different needs, aspirations and challenges. Over time, the 7 bases emerged as consistent themes.
The framework is inspired by Luthans’ work on Psychological Capital, Edmunson on Psychological Safety, Robertson on Confidence, Lencioni on team dysfunction and ORSC’s coaching approaches for team systems. It’s all glued together by unconditional respect for people, and the framework is designed to both support and challenge teams.
THE USAGE
We use the 7 Bases Framework in three ways as:
A coaching framework.
An assessment.
A leader and talent development journey framework.
THE 7 BASES
The entry can be made in any of the 7 bases, depending on what the team feels is needed, or what has been measured in the assessment. Often teams choose to start from a certain base, which later turns out to be only a secondary challenge for the team. The real problem or opportunity is mostly to be found in one of the (anti-clockwise) previous bases.
A good example is a tech scale-up leadership team that wanted to challenge one another more, and thereby increase their level of joint accountability. But as they did neither have the trust in each other, nor had they an aligned view of their goals, they had to work on these bases before they could be more effective in the way the challenge each other.
Here is a brief introduction to the 7 bases.
Clarity & motivation.
What is our goal, and why do we pursue it?
It seems trivial to ask this question, but in reality we meet many teams who have multiple versions of their vision and goals. This opens the door for misunderstandings, frustration and ineffectiveness, and must be dealt with.
Commitment
To reach our goal, what do we expect and need from one another?
In this base, we look at the expectations and needs from a business perspective, rather than from an interpersonal one. If a team wants to achieve a certain goal, they need to commit their time, effort, expertise and resources from their respective departments.
Connection & trust
Who am I? Who are you? Who are we?
Many teams say “we need to build trust”, and expect everything to be better thereafter. That’s partly true, but it requires the willingness to be vulnerable and real. And it requires the ability to co-create the team-identity – not as a sum of individuals, but rather as a third entity with its own “soul”..
Psychological safety
What is important to us, and how can we make it safe to take risks?
The step from individual trust to team psychological safety seems easy. But it only happens if the team is clear on their exact principles of collaboration. Teams need to be aware of behaviours that create anxiety, and understand how they can give one another space and encouragement in the context of what they are doing in their daily work together.
Performance Accountability
How can we perform better by challenging with love, for impact?
This base is painful for many teams, because they believe that they already do challenge each other. But often it is a pseudo-challenge, unsafe and unconstructive. Constructive challenging can be learned, and when based on a solid level of psychological safety and a clear vision, teams create a high performance “friendly fight club” and close the boring cozy club.
Collective efficacy
How can we be fully confident in our team and utilize our abilities?
The unspoken “doubts” in team members and their capabilities are the “Elephants in the room”. Teams need to share their doubts, as this is the only way to deal with them. And only then will the team be confident as a whole, and stop being dominated by the most confident team member.
Sustain performance
How can the team take advantage of the change, instead of only coping with it?
This is where truly high performing teams excel; They do not just want to co-exist with the Covid-19 challenges (as an example). Instead, they adopt their business and approaches to take advantage of it. It is an entirely different mindset of aspiration for growth vs. avoiding problems.
EXAMPLE: WHEN LOW TEAM CONFIDENCE HURTS THE TEAM.
This pharma company’s performance is excellent, but the executive team has a tendency to focus more on their individual areas of responsibility than the overall performance. The CEO wanted the executive team to become Team One, and to be more cohesive and strategic in their work.
When we benchmarked the member’s level of confidence in themselves, with their level of confidence in the executive team, it turned out that there was an unhealthy imbalance that drove the team apart. Several members doubted their team’s ability to get the job done, and consequently demonstrated dysfunctional behaviours that negatively impacted the team and the entire organization: Micro management and unaligned actions.
When the team realized this imbalance, we could identify the dysfunctional behaviours and the underlying reasons. We started covering some of the other bases in the framework, that had so-far been left uncovered.
This is a paraphrasing of what emerged:
Low Clarity: “The vision is great, but we have conflicting goals”.
Low Connection: “We don’t know each other well, and most of us have never met in person”.
Low Accountability: “I don’t want to be challenged by someone who doesn’t know my business area”.
When opinions like these surface, it is a critical situation, with risks and opportunities. It was a process that needed to happen, and we only got there because we first uncovered where the team was not in sync: The lack of confidence in the team. Today, the team is on a good path to become a cohesive Team One, instead of being a group of department heads only.
Team momentum = Hope x Confidence x Optimism.
We hope that you find the 7 Bases Framework helpful, and we invite you to critically review it and to give us your feedback. Feel free to reach out to learn more, or if you want help with your team’s development.
Yours,
Henrik
About the photo: The Sirius Patrol patrols the borders of Greenland. A unit consists of two officers, up-to 15 dogs and their sleigh. Their survival depends entirely on how well they function as a team. These team’s service, performance and unity is truly extraordinary, and it is a great story to dive into instead of Netflix binge-watching.
