10 Things to Learn About Your Team to Maximize Performance 

I live in the metro Detroit area, and for anyone who has a heartbeat here, we know that the Detroit Pistons are in the National Basketball Association playoffs. After last year’s poor 14-68 season, they’ve rebounded to 44-38 with a new coach and a physical style of play reminiscent of the 1989 and 1990 “Bad Boys” era when they won back-to-back championships. A critical role in their success is the new coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who joined the team in June of last year with a mandate from team owner Tom Gores to “immediately instill a culture of growth, development, and leadership effectiveness.” He’s responsible for getting the team to work together to win. And like any other team in sports or business, they want to win, especially after so many losses.

In fact, all professionals and leaders need a good coach. “Special” coaches may be hired to facilitate learning certain competencies and behaviors, but the C-suite leader is with the team on a daily basis, setting goals and managing personalities to collaborate and win — both as a team and as an organization. Even teams that may not have the strongest individual players can, however, learn how to collectively combine their skillsets to win.

Leadership information  

To start, the C-suite leader needs to prioritize gaining leadership information on their direct reports. This means learning many facets of their values and behaviors so that they know how to best interact with each individual and get them to work collaboratively. Here are 10 aspects of leaders’ styles that C-suite members must learn in order to enhance leadership effectiveness and maximize performance from their team. What matters most about the answers to the questions is whether they fit the role they’re in, the team they work with, and the desired outcomes.

Key leadership effectiveness traits

• How they make decisions. Are they focused on logic and objective analysis where they can step back from a situation and think about it? Or do they take a more empathetic perspective based on their own values and feelings? 
• How they gather information. Do they gather information based on what they see and hear, or by focusing on patterns and possibilities of the future? 
• How they gather energy. Do they need quiet time to plan their day and work? Or do they thrive on interactions with people and things to stimulate thought? What time of day are they most productive? 
• How they approach their life and work. Do they focus on planning, organizing and scheduling their time? Or are they more spontaneous and open to ideas that then crystalize into a plan just-in-time? 
• First, consider their cultural background. Next, do they expect to be consulted in decision-making, or do they expect the leader to make decisions on behalf of the group? Additionally, do they want to express their differences and creativity, or do they prefer to blend in with the team? Particularly in global organizations, there is a difference between expectations in Eastern and Western cultures. Furthermore, even in U.S. cultures, there are different expectations based on the environment in which leaders grew up.
• Their motivations. Are their values aligned with the results they’re trying to drive or the agreed upon strategy to get there? Do they desire more recognition for achievements, or do they focus on team contributions? 
• How they approach problem solving. Are they inclusive or exclusive in their methodology? How easily do they recognize where change is needed? Do they drive change when it’s appropriate, and not just for the sake of change? Do they prioritize properly? 
• How they form trusting relationships. Are they self-aware of their own behaviors and how they enhance or hinder their relationships with colleagues? Do they possess high integrity and character such that others know to expect the best from them? Do they deliver on promises? 
• Their points of conflict. What are their conflict triggers, and how do they handle them? Do they avoid conflict and fail to address inappropriate behaviors from others? Are they super competitive, putting their desires ahead of the team? 
• Their communication style. Are they direct and to the point? Are they passive-aggressive, trying to manipulate others for their own purposes? Can they clearly share their opinions and feelings? 

Building cohesion through insight and action

Great C-suite leaders learn this information by spending time with their team members, observing and encouraging proper behaviors, leveraging assessments to better understand their personalities and capabilities, gathering feedback from others with whom they interact, and, most importantly, understanding how each individual drives results. As the C-suite leader gains more insight into their team members, they are also responsible for ensuring that the team discusses and recognizes these traits in themselves and their colleagues. Ultimately, the goal focuses on optimizing how all of these traits work together to maximize leadership effectiveness and team performance, because a cohesive leadership team must accomplish everything.