High Performing Teams - Commitment to a Common Vision

Rick Koelsch

High performing teams produce some of UNL Extension's most outstanding educational experiences.  Most team references suggest that 1) commitment to a common vision, 2) individual accountability to the team, and 3) the right people (and skill set) are essential to successful teams. The book, "The Wisdom of Teams" by Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith, suggests those three attributes are fundamental building blocks essential to High Performing Team.

Starting with “Commitment to a Common Vision”, Katzenbach and Smith suggest that successful teams spend the necessary time for creating a team’s shared vision.  This commitment includes achieving agreement on a meaningful purpose (or outcome), specific goals for achieving that outcome, and common approach for implementation.  That outcome must be meaningful to all members of the team.  The goals must be achievable and measureable.  And all members of the team must contribute to a common approach to achieving the team’s outcome.  If this sounds like a promotion for a logic model, it should be noted that Katzenbach and Smith never mention the logic model. But the linkage between Katzenbach and Smith's principles for achieving a team’s commitment to a common vision and the principles of a sound logic model is undeniable.

So has your Extension team achieved a “Commitment to a Common Vision”? The following diagnostic questions may provide insights to the performance of your own Extension Team and opportunities for improvement.

1. Meaningful Purpose or Outcome
• Are team members  passionate about this outcome?  Do the outcomes belong to the team and not just defined by a leader or administrator?
• Do team members connect their own success to the team’s purpose?
2.  Specific Goals
• Has the team defined specific goals that are simple? Realistic? Measureable?
• Will these specific goals lead to a concrete set of team work-products?
3. Common Approach (implementation plan)
• Is the working plan for implementing these goals concrete (all team members know what will happen)?
• Does approach involve all team members in meaningful contributions?
4. General
• Do team members believe that they are actively engaged in developing the team’s vision?
• Do all members articulate the team’s purpose, goals, and approach in the same way?

Achieving a commitment to a common vision is a first step to every high performing team.  A future blog will focus on importance of team member skills and accountability.