Leading from the Middle

6Leading Teams

Your influence multiplies exponentially from the middle when you lead a team with excellence, which is a specialty skill you can develop. You'll do just that in this chapter, armed with multiple specialty tools.

The first of these tools is based on an important insight. If you want to be great at leading teams, the most direct way is to understand what great teams look like; how they feel, how they act, and what their norms are. Know what signs mark a truly great team, and then do what it takes to replicate those signs showing up on your team, too.

Signs That You're Leading Your Team Exceptionally Well

Here are the 15 telltale signs of the most successful teams, based on decades of research and observation across teams of all kinds, in business, sports, non‐profits, education, and more. If you can already spot these signs, you're leading teams from the middle with mastery. For those signs you don't see yet, you'll get help to make them materialize and make your team even better.

1. Psychological safety is abundant

Google spent several years studying what makes great teams great. They concluded that the single most important factor was the presence of psychological safety: not being afraid to take risks in front of the team, no fear of getting rejected for putting yourself and your opinions and ideas out there, feeling able to bring your whole self to work.¹

If your team isn't there yet on this front, role model the way. Commend versus condemn others for their ...