A question we often ask of organisations is, “Who’s on the boat?”
In other words, “If we started again today, who would not be on the team?”
Almost always, there is someone.
Often, there’s a list!
HONESTY, HUMILITY & HARDWORK
History, science and over 3,000 tests completed by our organisation to date point to the fact that people high on Honesty, Humility and Hardwork make the best team members.
More importantly, those with low levels of these key character traits exhibit psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism. (Ashton and Lee 2008).
The problems are exacerbated in leadership. We have witnessed higher levels of unethical, toxic, transactional and non-performance in organisations and teams led by those low on Honesty, Humility and Hardwork.
GOODNESS VALUES
In 2022 Harvard professor Aiyesha Dey published research that correlated CEO dishonesty with organisational fraud (more than twice as likely) and even minor infractions such as traffic violations as lead indicators.
Our Scout Survey considers the three critical character traits – Honesty, Humility and Hardwork (non-negotiables) together with five goodness values: Fairness, Empathy, Kindness, Patience and Generosity. These paint a comprehensive picture of how one will behave over time.
Even without the Scout Survey the following questions asked every 90 days can be extremely useful in ensuring you have the right people on your team at all times:
PEOPLE (Character & Behaviours) –
1. Does the person’s character meet the team’s expectations?
2. Do their behaviours enhance or dilute team values? (Ignoring or accepting the bad behaviour of star performers is a common but dangerous mistake.)
3. Do they prioritise the team’s needs over their own?
PURPOSE
4. Are they rowing in the same direction as the team?
5. Are they contributing to the organisation’s mission, objectives and outcomes?
6. Do their personal goals and aspirations align with those of the team?
PERFORMANCE
7. Does the person’s competency fit the role? Are they maximising their talents and strengths?
8. What is their level of effort…hard work? Are they doing their fair share of rowing?
8. Are they improving daily (learning, growing and improving)?
EXCELLENT TEAMS
A players like to be on a team with other A players – this applies to (1) mission, (2) character and (3) effort.
To have a team of A Players, managers must:
1. Recruit high-character individuals that share the team’s mission and contribute their unique strengths
2. Whilst most managers don’t reward bad actors, many tolerate them. This destroys teams.
3. Rather than avoid conflict – managers must constantly calibrate team members against desired behaviours.
Leaders must exit those that either won’t or can’t do what is required for the team’s success.
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