Lessons in IT Transformation: Technology Expert to Business Leader

Building Community

In my experience, there is an enormous difference between what I will call groups and what we think of as teams. Groups are a collection of people who are brought together because of a common skill set or function. Teams, by contrast, are a collection of committed, like-minded people who have dedicated themselves to a common purpose. This is not semantics—it is much more powerful than that. One of the main differences between groups and teams is the concept of community.

Building community is a critical part of developing and leading an effective team. People want to feel connected to a purpose they believe in. They also want to feel a connection to each other. As a leader, your role is to build within people a sense of common identity and purpose that makes them feel a part of something bigger than themselves. One step in accomplishing this objective is to allow people with common beliefs to gravitate toward each other and work together toward a common purpose. This is a natural evolution that will happen without a great deal of outside interference. The tougher approach is to get people with diverse ideas and beliefs to band together. The best way to accomplish this is to create a higher purpose or objective for which people are willing to put aside their personal agendas to work toward.