Bellman/Ryan © 2009

EXTRAORDINARY GROUPS:How Ordinary Teams Achieve

Amazing Results

withKathleen Ryan

Today

• Your own experience with an amazing group

• Key concepts from our field study

• Application of concepts to your role:– Organizational leader– Leader of teams

Bellman/Ryan © 2009

Starting Questions

Why do some groups achieve amazing results while most others do not?

What do extraordinary groups have in common that sorts them from the rest?

How might we create these terrific results more often?

3

What’s Your Experience?

1. When you join or are assigned to a group, what do you hope for?

2. Think of an amazing group experience you have had. Identify three things that enabled that experience to be so memorable.

3. What feelings do you associate with that experience?

Our Field Study

Sixty groups of 2-20, incl. virtual Work, volunteer, personal life Self-identified as “amazing” Interviews with 1-3 members 1.5 to 2 hour phone interviews Open ended questions and stories

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 4

An Extraordinary Group…

Achieves outstanding results while members, individually or collectively experience a profound shift in how they see their world.

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 5

Exercise

Find a partner…someone you don’t know

Briefly describe the essence of your experience (2-3 sentences)

Discuss your answers to card #2. What factors do you have in common?

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 7

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 8

Eight Performance Indicators

1. Compelling Purpose

2. Shared Leadership

3. Just-Enough Structure

4. Full Engagement

5. Embracing Difference

6. Unexpected Learning

7. Strengthened Relationships

8. Great Results

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 9

Impact of Amazing Group Experiences

70% had great tangible results Of the groups that sought tangible results,

39% saved or made significant amounts of money

All but two declared great intangible results and being positively changed

Ten people declared the experience “life changing”

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 10

Tangible Results 200 lives saved

through reduction of medical errors

Award winning library built

Breakthrough software developed

Micro-credit extended to 100M of the world’s poorest families

Millions $$$ saved Market share

dominated Championships won by

teams of “not brilliant” players

WMD facilities dismantled and equipment safely moved across continents

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 11

Intangible Results

Learned about one’s self Gained or deepened knowledge/skills Applied to other parts of life Built new or strengthened relationships Increased pride Heightened self confidence Greater sense of community

Table Discussion

What organizational benefits would you anticipate from creating more extraordinary groups at work?

Getting Below the Surface

Why do we human beings group? What is it that motivates us to join with

others?

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 9

Groups in Human History

Thousands of years of living in groups Survive together, perish alone Genetically, instinctively informed to

group It’s easy to relate to a group; it’s hard to

relate to a large organization Groups are the way to get things done

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 14

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 15

Six Group Needs

Accept one’s selfwhile

moving toward own Potential Bond with others while

pursuing common Purpose Understand Reality of their world

while making an Impact

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 16

We Need to Achieve and Grow

ACHIEVEMENT GROWTHMaking an IMPACT Self ACCEPTANCE

Accepting REALITY Growing into POTENTIAL

Joining in Common PURPOSE

Creating a BOND with others

Exercise: Back to Your Partner Did any of the six Group Needs show up

as important in your outstanding group experiences? If yes, which ones? How did they influence your experience?

Is there a connection between the Group Needs and your answers to card #1?

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 18

Four Feelings at the Heart of Transformation

Energized !

Connected !

Hopeful !

Changed !

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 19

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 20

EnergizedConnectedHopefulChanged

Back to Your Partner

Look at card #3.

What connection do you see between your experiences and the feelings of being: Hopeful? Energized? Connected? Positively changed?

An Extraordinary Group…

Achieves outstanding results while members, individually or collectively experience a profound shift in how they see their world.

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 5

Getting Below the Surface

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 23

Eight Performance Indicators

Four Feelings of Transformation

High Performance Behaviors and Techniques

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 24

• Group Problem Solving • Meeting Management • Collaborative Decision Making • Leadership Strategies

• Team Development • Conflict Management • Brainstorming • Effective Dialogue and Discussion

Application

Turn to page 209. Think of a group you lead on a regular basis. The next time you bring your group together,

• How might you lead this group differently if you applied any of the core concepts of extraordinary groups?

• What would you hope would happen?• What would you do?

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 26

Life is too short to spend time in groups that do not fulfill their promise.

EnergizedConnected

HopefulChanged

Visit our website, www.extraordinarygroups.com

Weekly BlogExtraordinary Groups Survey

Other useful materials

www.extraordinarygroups.com/extras/

Copies of today’s slides

Bellman/Ryan © 2009 27