I have spent a large portion of my adult life learning and teaching the skills and mindset for successful leaders and teams.  To say that leader and team development is a passion of mine would be an understatement.  This passion continues to grow over time as I observe my own growth as well as those that I’ve had the opportunity to impact over the years.  I have had the amazing opportunity to make these impacts in almost every role I’ve had in my career from an officer in the US Army to today in my roles as CEO of Go Ape and Director at Summit Ropes.

I believe there are four key traits each for leaders and teams.  Some of these traits overlap between the two:

4-C’s of Leadership:

• Challenge:  Leaders must first and foremost have the resilience to overcome challenges. 

• Communication:  The ability to communicate is at the heart of organizing more than yourself in order to accomplish a goal.

• Critical-Thinking:  Leaders must know how to organize their team to solve complex problems and have the critical thinking skills to make good decisions.

• Coaching:  The ability to help the team grow; personally, professionally, and in teaching the next generation of leaders

4-C’s of Effective Teams:

• Challenge:  Teams must be able to collectively overcome obstacles through their collective resilience and grit. 

• Communication:  Effective teams are great at communicating within the team, many times have written or unwritten guidelines on words, channels, and efficiency of comms.

• Conflict-Resolution:  Teams must have formal and informal ways in which to resolve internal conflict.  The most effective teams are direct in this resolution.

• Culture:  Effective Teams typically have a purposeful culture that requires members to integrate into.  This doesn’t mean that individual members change their personality, but it does mean that in selecting team members and leaders, looking for those that adapt to the culture is critical.

Effective leaders and teams do not happen without purposeful development.  This development is important for a number of reasons. First, it will help to improve the performance of organizations. Second, leader and team development helps to create a more positive and productive work environment. When team members feel supported and valued, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated. Third, leader and team development helps to improve retention. Individuals who are developing professionally are more likely to stay with their current employer.