Strategic teams: what really drives them?
| Date | 10 June 2019 |
| Published date | 10 June 2019 |
| Pages | 116-121 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-02-2019-0011 |
| Author | Daniel Wolf,Brooke Felger |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Strategic teams: what really drives them?
Daniel Wolf and Brooke Felger
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine motivation in a team setting, how engagement
in the organization’s value proposition and strategic agenda, better-matched talent, solid
enterprise culture and accountability all play a role in motivating groups of people to become
agents of making strategy happen. This paper also provides practical themes for team
leadership.
Design/methodology/approach –For over 25 years, the authors have observed team function
and dysfunction on all levels of business. They have defined a series of conditions that open the
gates for motivation to flourish. Using developmental content, questions and frameworks, they
provide a roadmap for the motivation of strategic teams in different settings, with different
charters.
Findings –The authors find that teamswhose members have a clear focus on their purpose within the
organization’s over-arching strategic plans, are well matched with specific talents of members and
leaders of the team, and serve withina strong enterprise culture, are more highly motivated as agents of
makingstrategy happen.
Originality/value –This study offers an expanded viewpoint on strategic team motivation with some
themes for building strategic team competence, resilience and adaptive capacity across a range of
organizationalsettings.
Keywords Motivation, Talent, Leadership, Strategy, Team, Strategicteams
Paper type General review
Strategic teams have become a major part of organization design, structure and
focus. Teams develop as the agents of making strategy happen. They
contribute to forward planning, decision-making, risk management, problem
solving and new value creation. They also serve as an accelerator for individual and
group motivation. High-performing teams are the proving grounds and the laboratories
for matching the needs of employees with the critical work to be done by the
organization. But there are some key leadership questions that draw down on team
motivation.
Motivation is a special subject for strategic teams, for those people whose work deals
with initiatives that are critical to the direction, integration and execution of the
organization’s strategic agenda. These teams work together on ideas and practices
that are instrumental to making strategy happen. What motivates individuals to
serve on strategic teams varies, but achievement, relationships, development
and recognition weigh heavily in the mix. What motivates the whole of the strategic
team also varies, but meaningful work that drives collective impact is common
ground.
What really drives high-performing strategic teams? What sets them apart from teams that
muddle along with their projects? It helps to first define the why, what and who of the team
in full context. Why are we chartered as a strategic team?What is our purpose and how well
are we matched up in terms of talent and the work to be done? Strategic teams find their
“drive” in the answers to these questions.
Daniel Wolf and Brooke
Felger are both based at
Dewar Sloan, Traverse City,
USA.
PAGE 116 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jVOL. 18 NO. 3 2019, pp. 116-121, ©EmeraldPublishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-02-2019-0011
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