It was the best of teams.  It was the worst of teams.

A team of 10.  All committed to a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.  All committed to becoming leaders.  All committed to fierce conversations.  All committed to creating something that has never been done before.

And all committed to one person, Linda, dominating who gets to speaks and who must sit back and listen.

Could this truly be the same team I witnessed singing “kum-ba-yaa” in the wilderness?

Is this the same team who can be fierce in one-on-one conversations, yet lose any ability to speak when thrown into the larger group?

What is the magic elixir that makes teams great enough to confront all that must be confronted?  What is it that is missing from mediocre-performance teams that “say” they want high-performance?

It is the COMMITMENT that all team members hold others accountable to transforming who they are in the process of being a team.

The problem that this team has is that each person already “knows” who Linda is.  They are not holding themselves accountable to who Linda truly must become.

Most team members come into a team “knowing” who everyone else on the team is.

“Linda is the bitch.”

We can always count on her to never take responsibility for her mistakes.  (And, therefore, we never will call her on it.)

“Joey is the smart one.”

We can always count on him to say something bright.  (And, no one else can.)

“Max is the shy one.”

We can count on him to think, think some more, and never express what he really wants.  (And, of course, we never ask him.)

And the problem, ladies and gentlemen, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO LINDA, JOEY, AND MAX REALLY ARE.  And we have no idea what they really are thinking.

In being a real team, we must make the assumption that:

Linda, Joey, and Max are on this team to transform the way they achieve results in their professional and personal life, and in the way they contribute to the team achieving results. 

The team members must be committed to transform how each individual achieves results.

To hold a team accountable to high performance, team members must choose a relationship that is more powerful than “I know who are, and I won’t change that.” 

Instead, for this team, they must choose the following:

Linda is looking for a breakthrough.  She is frustrated with her current results, and is calling on all of us to transform how she approaches and conquers the company’s challenges.  She is counting on us to show her the way to achieve long-lasting and extraordinary results.

Joey is committed to everyone on this team applying their strengths, whether it is brains, brawn or beauty.  If we ever catch Joey playing the smart role, and stealing the limelight, we hold him accountable to him facilitating other people to greatness.

Max is looking for his voice.  He is deeply committed to contributing, but does not know how.  He is calling on all of us to bring his greatest strengths forward, and demands that we hold him accountable to improvise, speak articulately and make a difference on this team.

Can you imagine the results you would achieve as a team, if you “made up” what others are truly committed to?  Can you imagine how powerful your conversations would be, and how extraordinary your results might be if you held others to the commitment of truly transforming the way they contribute to, and become a member of, the team?

Many people assume that the key to extraordinary results is to put your head down, work hard, and get the right people on the bus.  Yes, these are strong ingredients to success.  Stronger, though, are the relationships you play in working with your teammates. 

If you are truly committed to extraordinary results, then you must be prepared to give up “knowing” who the people on your team are.  By not “knowing” who your teammates “are,” you will relate to each other in the only manner in which as a team has any chance of becoming high performance.  You will relate to each other in the  commitment to achieve what has never been done before.