Team leadership in times of uncertainty Welcome to HEC Records. I'm thrilled to be with you. Thanks for taking this time out of your day to join us. I'm a professor of Management and Human Resources at HEC Paris, where I work alongside some of the sharpest minds. I'm honored to represent that group in this business school. I'm also the co-founder of a group called People Leader Accelerator. Today we're going to talk about things like trust and teams, something I've been studying for the past 15 years. Even before then, I've been fascinated with great stories of teams—people who come together and achieve something special that exceeds the sum of their individual parts. I remember watching Disney movies about this, playing sports, and even today, I'm fascinated by sports. In the US, we have a huge basketball tournament going on right now. People can do great things when they come together as a team. Part of my work as a researcher and scholar is not only to study teams but also get in the field and work with them. I've been fortunate to work with students creating impactful projects and executive committee teams in the C-suite. I want to start with a few familiar quotes: "Teamwork makes the dream work" "There is no I in team" "Together everyone achieves more" We also hear from children’s media, like the Lego Movie: “Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you’re part of the team.” In our society, we have a positive affinity toward teamwork. However, the late Harvard scholar Richard Hackman said: “I have no doubt that teams can generate magic, but don’t count on it.” After studying this for 15 years, I share Hackman’s perspective. Teams are often treated as a catchall solution for our biggest problems, and we’re surprised when they don’t work out. Key Issues Before Using Teams: Do we actually need a team? A distinction exists between groups and teams. Neither is inherently better; it depends on the task. Teams are justified only for big, messy, and complex tasks. If not, a group may suffice. Coordination and effort required Teams carry a "coordination tax": time, energy, and frustration of meetings, conflict resolution, and leveraging diverse perspectives. Synergies or collaboration gains are possible when the output exceeds the sum of individual contributions. If potential synergies outweigh the coordination tax, a team is worthwhile. Leaders and Leadership: Leaders don’t need formal authority; informal and shared leadership are common. One primary role is establishing a culture of trust. Trust Insights: Trust has generally decreased since the pandemic. Gallup statistics show: 96% of engaged employees trust management High-trust workplaces are 50% more productive, devote 106% more energy, and have 13% fewer sick days Trust is built on: Social exchanges / reciprocity – willingness to be vulnerable Trust Triangle (Francis Fry, Harvard): Authenticity: interacting with the real person Logic: trusting their judgment and decisions Empathy: feeling they care Leader Actions: Team Design vs. Team Coaching People often favor coaching (more controllable) over design, but design is crucial. Team design includes setting vision, crafting goals, and clarifying roles. NASA/Mars mission example: small, highly interdependent teams require careful role allocation, overlap, and compatibility for long-duration missions. Great coaching can’t fix poor design; good design can compensate for mediocre coaching. Team Coaching Create psychological safety and empowerment. Encourage adaptability in uncertain environments. Five Core Coaching Behaviors: Drive clarity: focus the team on main goals, avoid distractions, prioritize ruthlessly. Share strategic information: ensure the team understands context and purpose. Regular check-ins and communication: maintain individual and group communication; richer communication modes are better than email. Make learning a priority: debrief both successes and failures to avoid fundamental attribution errors. Role model values: demonstrate vulnerability, kindness, and proper interaction norms. Teams develop norms quickly, which may be unhealthy. Leaders must guide norm formation. Swift trust can appear real but is fragile. Audit and model good behaviors consistently. Q&A Highlights: People priorities in high-growth organizations: Focus on ruthless prioritization to avoid being distracted by uncertainty. Evolution (gradual improvement) and revolution (rapid change) cycles require role clarity and adaptability. Pandemic impact on pro-social behavior: Traumatic events can shift values and motives. Preliminary evidence suggests the pandemic increased pro-social tendencies, fostering trust and teamwork. Convincing team members to adopt a vision: Create urgency and communicate losses and gains. Show individual benefits (WIIFM: What’s in it for me). Critical thinking in leadership: Essential for navigating complex human and team dynamics. Redesigning existing teams: Start with why: provide a clear rationale for changes. Extend to how and what once the rationale is understood. Retaining motivation under uncertainty: Over-communicate. Build trust in the internal environment even when external conditions are unstable. Spiritual vision for leadership: Connecting to a higher purpose can be motivating if shared among team members. Leading international and cross-cultural teams: Establish regular communication patterns. Rotate meeting times to accommodate time zones. Be mindful of cultural and generational differences; invest time in building personal connections. Key features of a good leader: Critical thinking, flexibility, competence to maintain focus on priorities. Team effects on stakeholders: Teams impact individuals, other teams, organizational leaders, and external stakeholders. Leadership is challenging, especially in teams, but worth taking on. With clarity, communication, learning, and role modeling, leaders can achieve extraordinary outcomes. Thank you for tuning in. Explore further through publications and books, including 3D Team Leadership (2017).