The ingredients of amazing teams

I’ve been lucky enough to work with amazing teams.

In the first half of my career, as a journalist, I learned that great teams were nimble and adaptive.

Every day, we had to started with a blank page and move fast. No one knows what's going to be the lead story at the start of the day and we don’t know what we will learn. So, we are curious and ask questions. We had to trust editors to make sure we got the story right. We worked seamlessly with photographers, cameramen, editors and producers. Deadlines didn’t wait. The teamwork and adaptability required to put out a newspaper or put together a news program every day are some of the ingredients of awe inspiring teams.

Then, as a consultant, I’ve been privileged to work with innovative teams that succeeded because they were laser focused on what their clients need.

At their best, these teams were open to experimenting to find the right solution because no client problem was exactly the same. They ask questions to help align leaders on the right direction.On those teams, it was safe to take risks and that allowed each of us to learn and grow in unexpected ways. Together, those teams were like jazz musicians deeply rooted in the music, effortlessly riffing off each other and exchanging the lead.