In the Lead Magazine, Spring 2023

Business Leadership Center Ideas & Trends

As a part of the Business Leadership Center, the sophomore class is tasked with tackling an ambiguous problem with very little direction — just like in the real world. For the Class of 2024, this meant climate change and finding a creative solution to create awareness.

After a lot of hard work, dedication and imaginative thinking, the class turned their vision of “choosing your own path” into reality by creating a video simulation that shows the effects climate change will have on the future and challenges people to make choices regarding the future of climate change.

You can access the simulation through the Stornaway Platform: www.shu.edu/ideas-trends

In this project, the process is equally as important as the result. While we successfully created a video simulation, the learning process was even more valuable than the finished project. We gained insight into leading a large team, establishing a project charter, and dealing with an ambiguous problem. Our team is immensely proud of the finished product and the growth that occurred throughout the process.

— MELANIE YETMAN and AIDAN KELLY

16

Collective Effort

Assembling a high-performing team requires more than just a group of talented people. It requires finding those with both emotional and social intelligence along with the right skill set.

BY KATHIE STUART

20

Extraordinary Teamwork

The key to creating high-performing teams is bringing together a varied group of people with diverse perspectives.

BY SHERI L. FEINZIG

26

Five Principles of Building High-Performing Teams

Business leaders should seek people who are highly motivated to tackle challenges and work for a purpose.

BY ED COX

28

In the Lead with … Shail Jain

A conversation with a leader in technology and data leader in the life sciences, healthcare, financial services and communications industries. BY THE

EDITORS

6 Letter from the Editor

8 Leadership Lessons

To lead a high-performance team you need to work alongside team members in the trenches.

BY RISHI MEHTA

10

In the Crucible

Both individual effort and working as a team mean getting things done more efficiently, and with better outcomes.

BY Z. COLETTE EDWARDS

14 In Focus

Jillian Swogier ’11/’17 J.D. advises getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is difficult, but necessary.

32 Case Study

There is more to just reading and talking about leadership — you have to do it. Students seek to gain experience with interdisciplinary teams.

BY ELIZABETH HALPIN and BRYAN C. PRICE

36 Book Review

In Value(s): Building a Better World for All, teams must ultimately choose values appropriate for the mission.

REVIEWED BY PAULA ALEXANDER and STEPHEN

WOOD

Ruchin Kansal, M.B.A. (Editor) leads the Business Leadership Center and teaches The 5th Industrial Revolution. He spent 20 years in health care, the first 10 as a management consultant with Capgemini & Deloitte, and then in-house, serving as head of innovation at Boehringer Ingelheim, and then as senior vice president and global head of strategy for digital services at Siemens Healthineers. He received his M.B.A. from NYU-Stern.

Paula Becker Alexander, Ph.D., J.D. is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Management at the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University. She developed the curriculum for Corporate Social Responsibility, a core course in the School’s M.B.A. program. Routledge published her business ethics textbook, Corporate Social Irresponsibility, in 2015. Her research focuses on firm financial performance, executive comp and socially responsible management.

Ed Cox is a life science and digital health executive. He serves as the general manager of Digital Health & Medicines at Pfizer. From 2020 to 2022, he was the executive vice president of strategic alliances and global head of digital medicine at Eversana. Prior, Cox served as an executive or board member of both public and private in healthcare, life science, technology and resource companies.

Shail Jain

is an adviser, investor and a serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of Foresight Ventures, a firm that supports tech entrepreneurs through startup and growth stages. He has co-founded three technology firms over the last 25 years, creating a combined enterprise value of $500M+ for the shareholders. Shail has also held senior leadership roles at Accenture, Fujitsu and EMC Corporation.

Rishi Mehta, M.B.A. is the CEO and president of Waisl, a leading airport technology company. His expertise includes P&L management, product management, strategy, engineering, innovation and business planning across telecom, airports, smart cities, hospitality and education sectors. Rishi holds eight patents. He received his M.B.A. from UC Berkeley, M.S. in Computer Engineering from SCU, and B.E. from IIT Roorkee.

Bryan C. Price, Ph.D. is the founder of Top Mental Game, where he helps business leaders and athletes perform at their best when it matters the most. He served as an Army officer for 20 years, with combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a certified executive coach and keynote speaker who works with Fortune 100 companies, military units, and athletic teams. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Z. Colette Edwards, M.D., M.B.A. is a gastroenterologist, former corporate medical director for Humana and a board member. She received her B.A. from Harvard, M.D. from UPenn and M.B.A. from Wharton. Colette is the managing editor of the Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, and a published author: Be Less Stressed, Gastroenterology Quick Glance, and Navigating Your Healthcare Journey (upcoming)

Sheri L. Feinzig. Ph.D. is global head of workforce planning and analytics for Marsh McLennan. She has successfully led teams through a range of business transformations, applying her expertise in HR research, people analytics, DE&I, ethical AI, employee experience and workforce planning. She is the author of The Power of People, and an adjunct professor for NYU’s Human Capital Analytics & Technology program.

Elizabeth V. Halpin, M.A. is the acting director of Seton Hall’s Buccino Leadership Institute and an associate dean in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. She leads the Institute’s and Diplomacy’s administration and teaches freshmen and sophomores interdisciplinary LEAD courses and the Diplomacy cohort. She is passionate about women’s empowerment, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Kathie Stuart has over 25 years in the fashion industry as a president/COO, contributing a unique combination of strategy, merchandising and supply chain management. As director of brand development for The Wall Street Journal, she led the launches of WSJstore, and WSJtravel and the growth of the WSJwine. Her leadership continues in all scopes of her personal and professional life.

Jillian Swogier, J.D. is counsel of U.S. pricing and access for the commercial law group at Gilead Sciences, Inc. She advises in-house on an array of regulatory, business and operational legal matters. Prior to joining Gilead Sciences, Swogier served as senior corporate counsel at Sanofi. She received her B.A./B.S. in Economics at the Stillman School of Business and her J.D. at the School of Law, Seton Hall University.

Stephen Wood, M.S. consults and writes on policy topics after 43 years on Wall Street and in governmental finance. He specializes in infrastructure and project finance, public-private partnerships, federal and state grant and finance programs. He is also an expert in financial modeling for large, complex capital programs. A speaker at numerous industry conferences, he teaches about corporate social responsibility at Seton Hall.

Putting the Pieces Together

WE ARE proud to share the fifth issue of In the Lead magazine!

In the Lead launched with the vision of becoming the leadership magazine for current and aspiring leaders. Our mission is to inform future leaders, generate global dialogue on leadership, and build a community of leaders who see more effective leadership as a prerequisite to building a better world. We are at a good point in our journey, and proud of how far we have come. The content we present is world-class, our authors are key thought leaders in their industries, and our design language is engaging.

The reason for our success is a highperforming team that has come together to make the vision a reality. It has included all the authors who have so graciously contributed to the magazine’s content. It has included my former colleagues and co-editors Steven Lorenzet, Ph.D., and Bryan Price, Ph.D., who helped set the standard for the quality of our content. My colleagues Pegeen Hopkins and Eric Marquard have provided the wisdom and the design language to make the magazine a pleasure to read. Copy editors, including Kristina Hummel and Kim de Bourbon, provide multiple reviews. Lorraine Joyce and the team in University Relations have led the effort to market the publication and make the content easily accessible.

The secret to our team’s success?

A shared commitment to producing a high-quality product, transparency, trust, communication, appreciation and pride in what we are doing. As Pegeen says: “Our diverse skillsets and approaches build off one another — and we value that. We also all focus on making In the Lead the best it can be.”

Teams are the basic building block and the primary failure point in any organization. In their book The Wisdom of Teams, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith define a team as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

I have built and led multiple global teams and learned that many factors contribute to a high-performing team: clarity of purpose and objectives, alignment on values, clarity of governance, clarity of performance standards, transparent and constructive feedback, competent team leaders and team members, extreme collaboration, recognition and celebration, as well as a conflict management process. And most importantly, an alignment on incentives (monetary or otherwise).

So, how are high-performing teams created? And how are high-performing teams sustained? These are the questions we tackle in this issue.

We share lessons from the perspective of highly successful entrepreneurs, from the work of highly successful business leaders, and from the ivory tower. The message is consistent: it takes vision, it takes a common purpose, it takes trust and it takes a servant-leader mindset.

I hope you enjoy the issue and share it with your community.

I am also proud to share that we now have a dedicated place for the magazine within the Seton Hall University website: www.shu.edu/InTheLead.

Always grateful for your feedback.

– Ruchin Kansal

THE FUTURE OF Survey

Insight and foresight

The 2023 edition of the survey is going international: It will include cross-cultural insight and foresight on leadership from 18-30 year-old professionals from around the world. We welcome institutions that would like to partner with us on the 2023 survey.

CONTACT: ruchin.kansal@shu.edu or karen.boroff@shu.edu

The 2022 survey contributed to the national discussion on the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair), and provided actionable insights for organizations on the impact of remote work on leadership development.

Avoid a Disconnect and Get in the Trenches

To lead a high-performance team you need to work alongside team members in the trenches. BY

RISHI MEHTA, M.B.A.

AS THE CEO of a company that provides technology solutions and manages services and 24/7 operations for the airport industry, I have had the unique opportunity to lead and develop high-performing teams for some of the most prestigious airports in India and upcoming opportunities in the Middle East. Before that, my exposure to telecom and enterprise start-ups and large global companies in Silicon Valley gave me valuable insights into working closely with and leading result-oriented teams.

One of the critical challenges of leadership is building and sustaining teams that consistently deliver outstanding results. I have learned that it is a journey that never ends once you embark on it. Effective leadership requires a continuous effort to identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to drive success. One of the key strategies I have found to be effective in building and leading highperformance teams is working alongside my team members in the trenches. This involves going in the field with them, staying late with implementation and

support engineers, going with my team(s) to some of the most challenging customer meetings, etc. Leading by example is always more effective than mere words and direction, and it helps to build trust and demonstrate commitment to the team’s success. Both success and failure should be shared among team members, but as a leader, one should always be willing to take the blame and fall on one’s sword for the failures.

The trust that a leader eventually develops with the team by closely working with them paves the way for

effective crisis management, and these crises tend to show up at the most inopportune times (Murphy’s Law). Whether it is a significant incident or a minor disruption, responding quickly and decisively is essential to minimizing the impact on the customer, team and organization. The ability to react effectively requires adapting and pivoting to address the crisis at hand. It is much easier to do this when the team sees you as one of them rather than as an outsider. When they see you as one of them because you led from their turf, they are equally bought into the process of change and crisis management.

CASE IN POINT

Here is a perfect example. Recently, my project team worked tirelessly for several months to meet a tight deadline for installing and operationalizing the technology stack at the new Mopa Airport in Goa, India. To build trust and teamwork, some of my senior leaders and I made a point to be on-site with the local team on a rotational basis, often

working 12-plus-hour days. This helped us to understand the environment and challenges firsthand and showed our team that we were willing to work just as hard as they were. Additionally, even when we were away from the location, our team members and end customers knew they could reach out to us without hesitation for any issues that needed our immediate attention. This created a sense of unity and trust between leaders and team members, and I believe that it helped our team to step up as well and become de facto leaders at the local site.

CONCLUSIONS

Leadership is more than just titles, it’s about passion for solving problems and working together to achieve common goals irrespective of where one is on the corporate ladder. I have many similar examples of leading or working closely with high-performance teams, and each such experience has been extremely rewarding to me in terms of learning and honing my skills as a leader.

To accomplish this level of trust

and cohesion within a team, I tend to gravitate toward a servant leadership approach, which involves putting the needs of the team and the organization ahead of one’s interests and empowering team members to take ownership of their work and contribute to their fullest potential. Servant leadership does not preclude one from being decisive, and it does not mean that you cannot act strongly when your intuition and the data tell a consistent theme, even if others do not believe it. You do it in a manner where you always keep the higher objectives of furthering the organization’s cause ahead of your own.

Lastly, the technologies, tools, processes and systems we adopt to strengthen collaboration, communication, and agile decision-making can enhance human elements and leadership skills. By leveraging these resources, we can create an environment that supports teamwork, creativity, regular feedback and continuous learning, all of which are essential to building and sustaining highperformance teams. L

It is much easier to do this when the team sees you as one of them rather than as an outsider.

The ability to react effectively requires adapting and pivoting as needed to address the crisis at hand.

The Alchemy of Informal Teams

Both individual effort and working as a team mean getting things done more efficiently, and with better outcomes.

BY Z. COLETTE EDWARDS, M.D., M.B.A

I AM a gastroenterologist with an M.B.A. I am also trained in health and wellness coaching and health equity. Over the course of my career, I have been a stakeholder in most segments of the healthcare arena, including first and foremost, as a practicing physician.

Although medical training is evolving,

it is still frequently a singular pursuit of knowledge and excellence … until the importance and necessity of a collective effort is factored in — when students, residents and fellows are faced with the actual delivery of care, particularly in the inpatient setting.

In business school, one learns early the criticality of a team getting through the curriculum and delivering on projects

that can stand out in the crowd.

Each approach has its pros and cons, but in a world in which organizations are often siloed, a combination of the two approaches — both an individual effort and working collaboratively as a team — means more things can get done more efficiently and with better outcomes. Hence, the “alchemy” of an informal team.

everything,butIcando something.

WHAT IS ALCHEMY?

According to Merriam-Webster, alchemy is “a power or process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way.”

Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.

– MARGARET MEAD

In this case, the process involves an informal, interdisciplinary and diverse team:

• Driven not by hierarchy or reporting lines but by a passion for the mission.

• Whose skills are optimally harnessed and talents have been given the freedom of expression.

• Presented with the opportunity for members to imbed their ideas in the strategy and to help implement an action plan that represents the culmination of energy and creativity of the collective.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The recipe is complex. But the ingredients are readily available, if (1) you look for them with intention and (2) have a clearly communicated mission that provides a sense of purpose and enables team members to feel their contributions truly make a difference. They are:

• Passion

• Talent

• Diversity (skills, area/level within the organization, tenure, age, gender, race/ethnicity, introvert/extrovert and willingness to lead and follow)

• Innate collaborative spirit

• “Make It Happen” orientation

• “Mistake” = learning opportunity and wisdom for the future

• Willingness to pivot based on data,

obstacles and opportunities

• Sense of urgency, tempered with the patience needed to persevere amidst the bureaucracy and resistance to change often manifest in large organizations

• Celebration of successes, both large and small

• Success = doing the most good possible for as many people as possible in a sustainable way without compromising values and integrity

• Ongoing end-user feedback

• Trust

WHY DOES IT WORK?

I have discovered several things to be true in almost every setting and role I have experienced.

First, the vast majority of people in the healthcare arena are dedicated, passionate, mission-driven, and focused on patients, members and consumers.

Additionally, they will often go above and beyond to do right by those in their charge.

The system works better when they are in decision-making positions.

All people are leaders in their own way, if they choose to be.

We are surrounded by talent that all too often goes unrecognized but is amazing to behold when the opportunity to share it is provided.

The system works better when those talents are tapped.

There almost always seems to be an insufficient degree of alignment between (1) the work to be accomplished and the desired outcomes thereof and (2) the staffing levels and budget allocated to get the job done.

Expectations are set and goals are often determined and assigned at higher levels within an organization without an ample understanding of or appreciation for the gap between the targets to be hit and the resources required to do so.

The system works better when reality reigns rather than overexuberant (and sometimes seemingly magical thinking) assumptions of how few resources are needed.

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?

Because members of the team have consciously chosen to take on extra work while already having full plates, the energy of the group is different from the start. It serves as a catalyst for a collaborative dynamic focused on common goals in the service of others.

An informal team driven by passion and purpose also helps cut down on drama, politics and personal agendas, which can waste time, distract from the effort needed to get the job done, and lead to burnout.

I have had the opportunity to use this model on a vast array of projects and initiatives. In many situations, this approach was the only option available to move forward and address unmet needs in the face of limited resources and prioritization decisions often rooted in a shorter-term outlook than one that ultimately might reap the greatest benefit for the most people.

– ETHICS OF THE FATHERS 2:21

In each instance, I believe the end result has turned out to be more robust, more inclusive and more consistently person-focused throughout the process of design and development than would otherwise have been the case. The programming has been positioned for enhancements that can address evolving needs and optimally deploy any future resource allocations. The outcomes have

It is not your responsibility to complete the work of fixing the world, but neither may you stop trying.

also been sustainable.

The “return on investment” for members of the team have been the opportunity to work with others across the organization, to learn new skills, to pursue career interests and to build relationships that likely would not have developed organically.

Participants have also been given the chance to take on responsibilities in a safe environment in which:

• Sharing ideas and expertise is not only expected but welcomed.

• Asking questions is considered key to identifying barriers and hidden points of leverage.

• Being transparent and overcommunicating are prerequisites to everyone being in the loop and seeing the puzzle pieces that need to be connected for the big picture to emerge.

• Detours are stepping stones to lessons learned and elements of a playbook for future endeavors.

Many “founding members” have “reenlisted” to contribute to other projects and initiatives I lead and also recruited colleagues to these experiences.

SO, WHAT’S THE CATCH?

Don’t get me wrong. Having adequate resources beat not having enough of them, 100 percent of the time!

And using the informal team approach has its own unique complexity.

It requires an inherent “make it happen” team mindset and a willingness to operate outside the lines of a hierarchical infrastructure and culture. For some, that may initially feel uncomfortable or “too good to be true” to be trusted.

An additional layer of project management also comes with the territory.

Lastly, being in constant recruitment (and retention) mode is an absolute necessity. Members of the team move to

other departments, operate with seasonal workloads, are called to absorb the deliverables of those who leave the organization (or whose positions were eliminated).

Or they get a new leader who does not support their participation in activities other than their “day job,” and who doesn’t view such opportunities as a pathway to personal and career growth and development.

MY CONCLUSION

We live in a world of uncertainty, uneasiness and fear, PTSD-inducing events, division on a panoply of issues, growing insensitivity to acts of inhumanity, a frequent deficit of common decency and simple courtesy, and growing threats of conflict, as well as actual war and constant change.

Global connection and interdependence, as well as rapidly growing inequities in health, wealth and

opportunity, have never been viewed more clearly by more people.

Challenges of this breadth and depth have not been seen at this level of scale in history.

Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.

– SQUIRE BILL

(APPARENTLY NOT TEDDY

WIDENER

ROOSEVELT)

The mantra “Do (even) more with (even) less” seems to be etched in stone. But, at the end of the day, failure to act is in no way an option. And amid what is frequent chaos, the opportunity to get things done and solve problems indeed remains.

Passion, creativity, mission and a sense of purpose offer a path to drive crucial work that can make all the difference. The alchemy of an informal team means all is not lost and that there are options. L

STEM-Designated Graduate Business Programs

By 2028, it is estimated that there will be more than a million jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math ( STEM ) fields. In preparation, these STEM-designated programs offered by the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall will equip you to utilize technology, data and business analytics to make effective business decisions and solve complex business problems.

• M.B.A. in Business Analytics

Students receive an experiential learning experience by analyzing actual data used to determine findings essential for decision-making in management.

• M.B.A. in Information Technology Management

Students develop technology management skills critical for protecting confidential data for high-profile organizations.

• M.B.A. in Supply Chain Management

Students receive high-level training to apply analytical and technical methods required for enhancing supply chain operations.

• M.S. in Business Analytics (Online)

Students receive an experiential learning experience by analyzing actual data used to determine findings essential for decision-making in management.

In addition, international students benefit from taking STEM programs as the STEM designation allows them to apply to extend their 12-month optional practical training (OPT) by an additional 24 months.

What great minds can do.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is difficult, but necessary.

ITL What attracted you to the law field, and more specifically, to practicing law in health care?

SWOGIER Health care and patients. When I started my career — like many young law students not knowing exactly what I wanted to specialize in — I knew I had a passion for the healthcare industry, from supporting providers and healthcare systems to the regulation of drugs and devices.

in my career and development. The program is special to me for a myriad of reasons, particularly as I am a graduate of the program, a former graduate assistant of the long-standing former director (Mike Reuter) and now serve as a member of the Advisory Council.

HOMETOWN

Wheatfield, New York CAREER

Pharmaceutical regulatory attorney, at Gilead Sciences

SETON HALL STATS

B.A./B.S., Stillman School of Business; J.D., Seton Hall Law; Dean’s Advisory Committee; Alpha Kappa Psi; The Stillman Exchange; graduate of the Gerald P. Buccino Leadership Program

IN THE LEAD Thanks for taking the time with us, Jillian. Can you describe your current position?

JILLIAN SWOGIER I am an in-house attorney at Gilead Sciences, Inc. My area of practice is focused on market access and drug pricing. I work on regulatory and government affairs matters to help ensure Gilead is compliant with all laws in bringing our products and pipeline drugs to market, ensuring patient accessibility to our life-saving drugs.

My passion and time also aligned nicely to help guide my career path. The year I graduated from Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business was the same year the Affordable Care Act was starting to take effect throughout the industry. I started my career in healthcare informatics, working on strategies and solutions to create predictive modeling and bring new delivery methods into the complex healthcare system.

It was experience after experience that continued to shape my path. I kept practicing in areas that I enjoyed. Naturally being drawn to logic, problemsolving and complex science brought me to the life sciences industry and regulatory path.

ITL How did the Buccino Leadership Program prepare you to lead after graduation?

SWOGIER The Gerald P. Buccino Leadership Program played a huge role

The program helped arm me as a leader by requiring my colleagues and me to continuously challenge ourselves and always strive to be better and improve as professionals and individuals. The greatest preparation in becoming a leader was the higher-level honors curriculum, additional coursework, creating relationships and a network, and being surrounded by the “best of the best” and brightest in our class.

ITL Is there a moment or an activity that stands out as being a turning point in your leadership development at Seton Hall?

SWOGIER Two moments stick out.

The first was my junior-year mentoring project. Each leadership student was paired with a seasoned mentor who was at the peak of their career. My mentor was Dick Smith, the former president and general counsel of Chubb Insurance. I spent many, many hours learning from Dick about his career, the law and notably his experience during the infamous Lindbergh trials. Dick single-handedly prepared my mindset at a very young age for law school and a long, long legal career.

The other moment that sticks out to me was the Advisory Council dinners. These dinners are opportunities for students to meet and interact with senior executives from a variety of fields in a one-on-one way. Students and

“I see new attorneys with great ideas and solutions; however, these same graduates still need training and practical practice. This is something I learned quickly.”

Jillian Swogier ’11/’17 J.D.

top executives can exchange contact information, discuss everything from hobbies and lifestyles to career paths and education. I have met many professionals from universities all over the country who never had the opportunity to experience that type of exposure when they were in school. Those experiences really stick out to me.

ITL How important is teamwork in your career? Did the program prepare you to be a good team player?

SWOGIER Teamwork is critical in my career. My team at Gilead works in a very communicative and uniform fashion, meaning we have multiple meetings a week to connect both as a full team (all seven of us) and in smaller subgroups. While it is common for many practicing attorneys to work in an individual capacity, my team manages risk, bounces ideas off one another and creates a brain

trust by continuous collaboration.

The program honed my teamwork skills as a developing professional in a lot of ways. One day upon my arrival at Seton Hall as a freshman (and even the summer prior), Mike Reuter connected our class as a unit through communication channels and by encouraging forming relationships. Once on campus and in the program, our class did everything together from taking the same core classes and extracurriculars to attending frequent events and dinners. The unity promoted by the structure of the program is truly beneficial to teaching students to be team players and think about the group, rather than just oneself.

ITL What leadership skills do you find recent college or law school graduates need to be successful, but often don’t have?

SWOGIER Newly minted graduates have so much to offer. Typically, a new

graduate excels at being agile, tireless and nimble. Especially in the legal field, I see new attorneys with great ideas and solutions; however, these same graduates still need training and practical practice. This is something I learned quickly. Law school teaches the doctrinal law and how to think, but it does not teach the practice of law.

This learning will continue for any lawyer, and will not stop. So, be humble and admit what you do not know. There’s this mantra I try to live by that I think is so important: Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Step outside your comfort zone, continue learning, take every opportunity that comes your way and take every chance you get.

ITL What advice would you have given your younger self at Seton Hall?

SWOGIER Stay the path. Do what you enjoy. The rest will come. L

COLLECTIVE EFFORT

By KATHIE

More than ever, the ability to build strong teams in business, communities and government is critical to global inclusion, as well as ethical and forwardthinking endeavors. In an era of individualism, we are forced to identify leaders who can create high-performing teams and know the dynamics of the performers.

Emotional and social intelligence play a critical role in developing these teams and individual players. Skill set alone is the last of the criteria we should be concentrating on to distinguish the best team players to recruit and retain, still it remains an important ingredient for final consideration.

Creating high-performance teams is one of the top 10 priorities among organizational leadership today.

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision ...

It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

–A ndrew C A rnegie

Assembling a high-performing team requires more than just a group of talented people. It requires finding those with both the emotional and social intelligence along with the right skill set.

STUART

The outcome of such leadership is not left to happenstance. It is a well-thought-out strategy and process of putting the “best of the best” individuals together to create success.

Our workforce craves meaning and ethical direction. Blindsided by multiple failures of leadership, team members want to be part of making a difference. Alignment of vision and demonstrating purpose-driven actions allow the team to synchronize.

The appetite for building high-performance teams is a key skill that C-level and management executives are addressing in their own career development. Research suggests that employees are five times more productive when working in

high-performance teams, making this an essential skill set for future leaders.1

I have been fortunate enough to participate in both great teams as well as mediocre teams and know firsthand the powerful outcome of the high-performance team makeup, as well as the result of mediocrity.

CASE STUDY #1 High-Performance Team Wall Street Journal Brand Extension

As the director of brand extensions of The Wall Street Journal, I immediately knew I needed to create a high-performance team to market WSJwine — a premier brand.

I tapped WSJ department heads with face-to-face meetings, each time sharing the vision for brand growth. Understanding firsthand the skills needed for individuals to collaborate with key company players, I created criteria and a set of values for the team members.

THE PLAYBOOK

This emphasized encompassing the vision, mission, operations and targeted partnership dynamics with a robust marketing and business development plan. With each week that passed, the team worked like a synchronized marching band, performing to a cadence that resonated with our neighboring departments.

A seasoned employee from another department pursued becoming part of this team. I sat with her during the interview and told her frankly that “this team works hard and is nonstop.”

“I want in” was her final comment.

With the right people, we increased our revenue in the WSJwine business within 15 months, from $32 million to over $53 million, all because of this team’s dynamics and follow-through.

I remain proud of what was accomplished and of each member’s contribution to success.

CASE STUDY #2 Underperforming Team Member of Community Home Owners Association (HOA) Board

Contrary to the success example above, I had the opposite experience occur recently. As part of my volunteer efforts, I became a board member of my community HOA and was quickly named president, overseeing the vision for community management.

THE PLAYBOOK

This approach was developed knowing that this reference could be a pivotal tool for direction as we became challenged by daily decision-making.

There was little traction for this team. It was not adversarial. It was a group of individuals with many years of experience

working toward the same goals, but just not coming together. Great ideas and operational needs were brought to the table often, but time lapses and conflicting priorities in the “queue” prevented us from achieving our desired results.

I was completely baffled, frustrated and disappointed that we were not living up to our potential.

I did a self-assessment of my own role in the mediocre performance, asking the following questions:

• Was this team inspired at all toward a common goal?

• Was the vision clearly communicated?

• Was I organized in sharing information, tools, and readily available resources for each team member I was working alongside?

• Did I invest the appropriate time for feedback and understanding of the dynamics?

After my self-assessment, I realized that this team’s personalities did not meet the criteria for high-performance outputs. The great part about this experience is I was still able to recruit volunteers to head committees that outperformed and consistently met deadlines and community satisfaction metrics, in contrast to those in the general management roles.

Here were some red flags:

• Very little was getting accomplished, and deadlines were not being met.

• Communication was sporadic and often nonexistent on promised deliverables.

• When sitting down at meetings, excuses were tossed out like pieces of paper being ripped up for the garbage pail.

• Pointing fingers at others and deflection was a matter of protocol.

• Individuals would say the right things but didn’t deliver on what “assumably” had been agreed to.

This last case study completely illustrates the symptoms of an underperforming team.

The truth is that no matter what I did in my own performance or leadership approach, the teams’ makeup would never be considered high performance. Two out of the four key players

No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team. r eid H offm A

were not team players because of their personalities, making the environment cumbersome, chaotic and dysfunctional.

There are several key areas to concentrate on when pulling a high-caliber team together. The top three foundational principles are:

1. Attitude

A critical determinant of both a team’s success and the ability of individual team members is the attitude that each brings to the team and their everyday interactions.

• Are they self-motivated individuals?

• Are their conversations sprinkled with “Can do” or “I‘ve got this!”?

• What opportunity does the individual have to excel within the team?

• Are the individuals inspired by the vision and the goal given to the group?

2. Passion and Commitment

Commitment is one of the key components of high-performer success. Even during challenges/failures, they are consistently focused on the outcome.

• Are your team members truly committed to the end product/service/goals? Or are they in it for their own glory?

• Does their commitment to the vision fit with their vision of success for themselves?

• Are the members focused on the same goal?

3. Results Driven and Effective Outputs

High-performers are consistently driving for results and realize their own talents and gifts by being part of a team. They are constantly reviewing the result with metrics that achieve the end results.

Ask them how they got to the end game, and they may share with you some of the “failures or challenges” that went into the result. They are proud of overcoming the bumps in the road and creating a resolution, illustrating the value of perseverance.

High-performance players believe in not only doing things right but also “doing the right thing.” This exemplary attitude plays out in this high-octane group.

Time is an asset that these team members highly value — their own time as well as recognizing and respecting the time of others and their contributions to the team. Most team members come prepared to meetings, take personal time to work through a solution and agree to meet with others to define mutual impact.

They thrive on performance, end-game results, and the ability to make a difference in the world today.

The results of high-performance teams are captured in four key outcomes:

1. Better brainstorming and results due to larger perspectives with checks and balances on individual thinking.

2. Increased impact on solution-oriented results.

3. Ability to create momentum based on goals and timetables.

4. Sustained motivation from genuinely loving what you do and therefore being able to celebrate cohesive successes across all players.

High-performing teams using the above criteria develop a culture of success, and high-performers throughout an organization upgrade the standard of excellence. This culture is perpetuated by retaining and attracting key talent.

In today’s world of hybrid work environments and virtual workplaces, creating a team that supports, respects and creates a feeling of inclusion among teammates is one of the best motivators for recruiting and retaining great talent. With aligned team energy, decisions and complementary personalities in place, everyone wins.

Enjoy the ride when you are part of this type of team. There is nothing like it for those who thrive in this environment! And, if working on your own leadership skills, be aware of the power of building these teams into your education and learning curriculum. This is truly a well-known secret to organizational success by top leaders. L

The key to creating high-performing teams is bringing together a varied group of people with diverse perspectives

• BY SHERI L. FEINZIG, Ph.D.

In one particularly memorable moment in March 2020, millions of people shared in a moving Zoom-delivered musical experience as performances by symphony orchestras, such as the Colorado Symphony’s digital “Ode to Joy,” were recorded and posted online, with each musician remote from the others yet perfectly in sync and creating a much-needed sense of togetherness and connection. It was a spectacular illustration of creativity and innovation delivered under extremely challenging circumstances. And it was a demonstration of extraordinary teamwork.

One aspect that made this experience — and symphony orchestras in general — so magical is the variety of instruments and perspectives brought by musicians mastering vastly different sounds and techniques.

Imagine if only one

type of instrument existed for creating music — perhaps only drums or only violins. Would the “Ode to Joy” performance have had the same impact? While the drum and the violin are each phenomenal instruments, the impact of that moment was created by different instruments being introduced and integrated into the whole. It’s the diversity that made it magical (See figure 1).

And so it is with teams in the workplace. While like-minded people, all with similar training and worldviews, can work together and produce great outcomes, a combination of different perspectives is required for ground-breaking innovations and next-level performance.

WHY DIVERSITY?

How does diversity contribute to team performance and innovation? As with the musical analogy, diversity brings unique experiences, and information to the table.

People who have lived significantly different experiences will see the world through different lenses, and they’ll raise issues and suggest solutions that others simply are unlikely to consider. Research shows that bringing together diverse perspectives increases creativity by causing people to search for new information when they are confronted with these perspectives, and determines better decisions and solutions.

Figures 1 and 2: Imagining the Colorado Symphony consisting of only drums or only violins.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings delivered over digital platforms such as Zoom suddenly became ubiquitous — in our work lives, in our social lives, and as a way to experience the outside world from the safety of our homes.

In fact, the very exposure to people who we expect to hold different views from our own can change the way we think. It forces us out of our comfort zones. And thinking differently is often a path to better outcomes.

To illustrate this notion, consider something as simple as city sidewalks. Originally designed for people with full mobility, sidewalks were built as structures slightly elevated above ground level. But when injured World War II veterans returning home to Kalamazoo, Michigan, needed to navigate their city’s terrain to search for jobs, everyday sidewalks became an obstacle. That is, until the introduction of curb cuts — sections of sidewalk built at ground level, sloping upwardly at a gentle incline to meet the level of the main curb. This innovation was life-transforming for returning veterans, enabling them to become employable, and it took a different worldview for it to come to fruition.

And, as anyone who has had to navigate sidewalks while

pushing a baby stroller, using crutches or pulling luggage can attest, this innovation, which was only imagined because of a wheelchair-bound veteran’s experience, has come to benefit many.

Other examples abound, such as closed-captioned television and video transcription. Originally designed to help the hearing-impaired, it also benefits those in locations not conducive to listening to audio, non-native speakers of the language, and fans watching their favorite sports teams battle it out in noisy locations. Such innovations that ultimately benefit many came into being only because people with unique life experiences saw a need and envisioned a solution.

THE BENEFITS OF DIVERSE TEAMS

Many studies have examined the relationship between diverse teams and performance, and collectively, these studies provide evidence of a positive association.

For example, firms with women in decision-making leadership positions demonstrate stronger financial performance than firms with only men in leadership roles, and when ethnic diversity is added to the mix, the performance boost is even higher. Evidence from well-designed research studies,1 with random assignment to control and experimental groups, provides

Figure 2

THE VERY EXPOSURE TO PEOPLE WHO WE EXPECT TO HOLD DIFFERENT VIEWS FROM OUR OWN CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK. IT FORCES US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES. AND THINKING DIFFERENTLY IS OFTEN A PATH TO BETTER OUTCOMES.

even more compelling evidence: Across a number of domains (such as solving a mystery or participating in a mock jury), diverse groups outperform their homogenous counterparts.

This line of research also helps explain why that’s the case. For example, in a study focused on small-group decisionmaking, team members were provided with different bits of information relevant to the task. Each member shared a common set of information, and each had unique information known only to them. In order to arrive at the best decision, team members had to share their unique information. Unlike the diverse (mixed race) groups, members of homogenous (allwhite) groups assumed that each team member had the same information, so they didn’t interact in a way that revealed their unique knowledge. Their sameness inhibited creative thinking and reaching the correct solution.

Similar findings have been observed across a range of individual differences and settings, including lab research with people of different political party affiliations, field studies comparing geographic diversity and real-life situations where skin color is the difference factor. Taken as a whole, it’s evident that being exposed to people with different life

experiences and different points of view has a powerful effect on causing us to think more deeply and process information at a different level than we do when everyone around us thinks the same way we do.

I have experienced this dynamic first hand. Throughout the course of a writing project with two co-authors (both male, from a country other than mine), we encountered instances where two of the three were aligned on how to approach a topic, while the third saw things completely differently. In other instances, the same dynamic played out but with a different two-versus-one grouping. In all instances, the process of forcing ourselves to challenge our strongly held points of view led ultimately to an agreement and, importantly, to a better end product.

In another instance, I had the opportunity to question a project team about the technology solution they were delivering, where I saw risks that hadn’t occurred to the team. I viewed the technology through the lens of where things could potentially go awry and yield unexpected outcomes for different groups of people. By bringing that different perspective (based on my training as an

industrial-organizational psychologist), we were able to demonstrate that the risk was real and to advise on mitigating actions. The result was a better experience and more accurate outcomes for all stakeholders involved.

BETTER OUTCOMES, CHALLENGING PROCESS

These scenarios further illustrate the value of bringing together teams with diverse perspectives based on different experiences. But the process is not always easy. Many times, in both of those scenarios, the inability to see eye-to-eye was frustrating, to say the least, and required perseverance to work through the differences. This is not atypical.

While diverse teams are more likely to deliver better outcomes, it is not necessarily the case that people will therefore prefer working with people who bring varying perspectives. The deeper processing of information that’s ignited by exposure to people who are different, while clearly beneficial, is also cognitively challenging. It’s hard work!

In contrast, when we’re in a group where everyone thinks the same way we do, collaborating is more likely to be easy and fun. It’s enjoyable to be with people who share our views. But while it’s easier, this type of collaboration does not evoke the deep thinking required to get to better outcomes.

THINK DIVERSELY ABOUT DIVERSITY

While much of the diversity conversation rightly centers around demographic characteristics — age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and more — it’s useful to think even more broadly about the types of diversity that can be considered in the context of teams.

For example, teams spanning multiple nationalities bring valuable varying perspectives, particularly for organizations with global operations serving international constituents.

Investing the time to meaningfully understand and appreciate different cultural norms, expectations, ways of working and language nuances can pay huge dividends in better team performance, as well as overcoming the challenges often associated with working among people whose experiences differ from our own.

As another example, cross-disciplinary backgrounds (such as teaming psychologists with technologists) can fuel innovative breakthroughs by challenging the way we view problems and the ways to solve them.

The hybrid world of working that many organizations have adopted out of necessity emerging from the pandemic brings yet another diversity challenge to the forefront: how to work effectively when some team members are office-based and co-located, while others are remote and collaborating virtually. Combining the talents of both types of workers — remote and in-office — requires intention and commitment, but the hard work required for effectively managing diverse ways of working can pay similar dividends to the hard work required to realize the value of other types of diversity in teams.

Placing ourselves in both scenarios — joining in-person teams as a remote worker, and alternately, working in an office while team members are remote — can facilitate an understanding of each group’s unique challenges and how best to overcome them.

DOING THE WORK, REAPING THE BENEFITS

Innovation and superior results require hard work. “Easy” does not lead to innovation and greatness; it leads to stagnation, sameness and complacency. Rather, it’s doing the work of bringing together differing perspectives, and navigating through those differences, that leads to innovation and superior results. L

IT’S ENJOYABLE TO BE WITH PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR VIEWS. BUT WHILE IT’S EASIER, THIS TYPE OF COLLABORATION DOES NOT EVOKE THE DEEP THINKING REQUIRED TO GET TO BETTER OUTCOMES.

1 See, for example, Katherine W. Phillips, How Diversity Makes Us Smarter, Scientific American, October 1, 2014.

Principles of Building High-Performing Teams

2 WIN AS A TEAM Another key principle is that the team members must want to win as a team and not just as individuals. Some companies are built on individual merit. But the magic happens when there is connectivity, and a desire to win as a team. So, offering incentives to win as a team is important.

By ED COX

HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS are essential to any organization’s success. I have founded and built a digital healthcare business, engineered complex cross-sector collaborations, and now lead the digital medicine franchise at a large pharmaceutical company. In my experience, the following five principles are critical to building a high-performing team.

3 THE RIGHT SKILLS A high-performing team needs to have different and balanced skills. There is no such thing as a team of 11 tennis players. Every team needs people with the high-knowledge command of a specialist in two-three verticals and the broad knowledge of a generalist. This allows the team to make faster but more holistically informed decisions.

1 A COMMON PURPOSE

The single most important factor is purpose. People must know that what they are doing has meaning. Some of the highest-performing teams within society are elite-level sports teams. A well-understood phenomenon in sports is if one team is motivated and another team is unmotivated, the motivated team almost always wins, regardless of all other factors. Answers to questions like “Does this game have meaning to me? Does this game matter?” drive results more than skills, past results, resources, measurable talent, and everything else. So, purpose and motivation are critical to the game you are playing. With purpose and motivation, people can often transcend challenges to become better versions of themselves. Purpose unlocks talent. Without purpose, it is very difficult to harness high talent.

4 DYNAMIC ROLES A high-performing team allows roles to be dynamically versus strictly defined. This is the balance to the “Having the Right Skills” principle. Team members need to believe that they can become more than they are in order to be their best. Having an environment in which they can be flexible and having roles that are dynamic allows for that.

5 MANAGE ALSO AS INDIVIDUALS While the leadercoach should coach the group as a team, he/she should also coach every member as an individual. Show how a person can become a better version of themselves on not just a team basis but also at the individual level. It is important that the team wins and the individual wins in the process. Ensuring, as a leader, that you’re focused on both is critical.

These principles are ideas that have to work together in complete harmony. When they do, you have a highperforming team. L

Business leaders should seek people who are highly motivated to tackle challenges and work for a purpose.

“In the Lead” is a conversation with an industry leader on key trends and leadership challenges. In this issue, we present a conversation with Shail Jain, a leader in technology and data leader in the life sciences, healthcare, financial services and communications industries.

 Shail, you are a serial entrepreneur. Tell us about the businesses you have started.

I have been a part of building companies that use technology/data to help enterprise businesses perform better, improve people’s lives and reduce business risk. The first business we started was about transforming enterprises using new technologies, and Fujitsu acquired it. The second business was focused on using data backbones to integrate off-the-shelf packages and was acquired by EMC. The third company focused on transforming enterprises to become data-driven and using data and analytics to improve their businesses and reduce risks. Accenture acquired it. I am a data enthusiast, and as data became more valuable to the industry, we increasingly focused on it. The first company was 40 percent data, then 60 percent data with the second and 100 percent with the third.

 Congratulations! If you can quantify it, what value have you created?

The three businesses created a cumulative enterprise value of about $500 million for our shareholders, but more importantly, it created thousands of jobs. Further, every time a company was acquired, it became a cornerstone for growth for the acquiring company. The acquiring businesses were able to turn them into multibillion-dollar businesses that my team ended up leading. The most rewarding thing for me was to see employees join us in a

Reflecting on your journey, what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

company, buy homes, have kids, send their kids to college, and finally, in some cases, see their kids come and join us in our next company. 

It all starts with a solid vision and a passionate and resilient team. The vision is not just about the what but more importantly, the why. Many entrepreneurs miss that step. Are you starting a business purely to chase money, fame or success, or do you have a passion for a product or service that can address a problem, capture an opportunity, create a competitive advantage or fill a gap in the market?

For me, it has always been about chasing my passion for a problem or an opportunity, rather than chasing money or success. I believe if you chase your passion, success and money will follow.

The team is equally as important to starting a business. It’s very important to pick the right founding team, where everyone is aligned with the goals of the company and has mutual respect to trust each other’s views. However, I’ve always had a concept where I bet on the jockey more than the horse. And I’ve done that all my life in building teams.



What do you mean by betting on the jockey and not the horse?

It’s betting on the right people, instead on an idea. If you bet on the right people, they will come up with the right idea. And if the idea needs to be corrected, they will pivot and adapt. And that’s a big, big, big thing for me.

buying into the vision by being equal owners of the vision. You can do that by defining the vision at a higher level and letting the team provide the missing pieces, so it becomes as much their vision.

Next, I encourage the team to question my ideas and plans. The key is to create a no-ego environment so that people can help bulletproof your ideas. I look for people who can tell me why my vision will not be successful as it is, or what’s missing from it. The more you do that, the more the team also gets confidence in the vision itself.

The last thing is that you must lead by example. When you’re asking people to buy into your vision, you must demonstrate that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to pursue that vision. And if you can do that, your team will also do that.

 Once people have bought into your vision, how do you build teams that can pull through that vision?

That’s a great question. I’ve subscribed to a principle that Ray Dalio has articulated very well. The principle is that there are three things you look at when hiring people. You look at skills, abilities and values. In this world where everybody is looking for immediate gratification, we get caught up in skills, because skills are what translate into quick results. Instead, if you take a step back and focus on learning abilities, you can obtain newer skills because the person can learn anything fast. And even more critical is values, because if you have the right values, it will lead to great culture and team alignment. So, focus on defining your values and assess people with the right values first, then abilities and skills.

I admire the way Google hires people. They don’t let the hiring manager make the decision. The hiring manager can interview and provide input, but a committee of four or five other people makes the hiring decision. Do you know why? Hiring managers have a sense of urgency because they are driven by a timeline, and they are likely to compromise. But if you’re not the hiring manager, then you would ask if this person has the right values and abilities required for the role. In a smaller, firm it’s not always possible to do this, but the more you follow this approach, the better.



You talked about the importance of the vision. How do you create buy-in for your vision? How do you inspire people?

It’s vital to note that if it is just your vision and others are there to implement it, you will not be as successful. You must make sure that people are

I also believe that “A” people surround themselves with “A+” people because “A’s” look to make themselves better by surrounding themselves with people who are smarter than them in certain areas. And “B’s” surround themselves with “C’s” as they are always trying to make themselves look better. So, hire the “A’s” because you’ll end up with more “A+s.”

One of the other things is that speed is a killer here. You will make mistakes if you are trying to build a company fast. So having the right expectations about the speed with which you’re going to build your business is essential. Otherwise, you’ll make suboptimal decisions.

High-performance teams primarily stem from leadership. You must make sure you have strong leaders who have a vision, can communicate the vision and demonstrate their passion and commitment.

That’s a big one: balancing speed with the need to build highperformance teams. Can we build high-performance teams in the hyper-speed business environment we live in?

Absolutely. High-performance teams primarily stem from leadership. You must make sure you have strong leaders who have a vision, can communicate the vision and demonstrate their passion and commitment.

The other thing is that trust is crucial. You need authenticity to gain trust. But once you have trust, you get traction, and traction is what gives you results. Therefore, it all starts with authenticity. The leader must be authentic. To be authentic, a leader must be transparent.

A lot of companies have this notion that they are a family. I believe that there is a time to treat the team as a family and another to treat them as a sports team. This is a tricky balance. It’s hard to fire a family member, but in sports, you will replace a player to win the game.

It would be best if you had a mindset that, as far as the business goes, we are a team and not a family. That we are playing the game and we need to perform well, and that is how to build high-performance teams. But sometimes you must help people who are not able to perform for reasons beyond their control, like medical issues, and this is where family thinking comes into place.

You touched upon a fascinating thing there: Sometimes, someone must either be removed from the team or step away for personal or other reasons. So how easy or difficult is it to sustain a high-performance team?

The big lesson I’ve learned in building and sustaining high-performance teams is that the stars of yesteryear will not always be the stars of the future. We often conflate in our minds that because an individual was a star player in their last role, they would be a star player in the next one. However, people’s aspirations change, and they may not necessarily look to do what they were doing before. And so, you must make sure that you are evaluating people on their current aspirations.

It’s also essential to get the right team on the bus first. Rather than telling the team what to do, ask if the right people are on the team. Because if you have the right people, you don’t need to motivate them; they will motivate each other. Look at sports championships. Most winning teams last for three to four years, and no team in the world has won titles constantly for 30 years. You must give feedback and make hard calls — this goes back to the family versus the team concept. Because you must get the wrong people off the bus, you must call

them out, and that’s authentic communication. And if you continue to do that, you will maintain high performance in the team because you are constantly fine-tuning the team.

That does not preclude building personal relationships. I got to know my teams, families, their kids and their aspirations, and I also exposed myself to them because building that trust in a relationship is essential. If you looked at the Yankees when they had the winning season, their manager insisted that they all have two cookouts in his backyard every year with their families. So, I think that it’s also crucial to build that bond beyond work.



You talked quite a bit about sports teams, and you spoke about teams versus family. Are there two or three examples that you always look at and say, “Wow, those are high-performing teams,” and I wish I could emulate that?

The Yankees were about a decade ago. They were an “A” team because they had the right leader — Derek Jeter. He was selfless. Egos are a big part of why teams are not successful. So, it would help if you had that in your leader. Then they had a personal bond and a clear vision that they had to keep winning the championship. That’s a team I look up to in many ways.

Then GE under Jack Welch. Jack made mistakes, and he’s admitted to his mistakes. We all make mistakes. But the way he built his teams is something to learn from. He gave them a lot of autonomy and held them responsible for the results. It’s a big conglomerate, but its headquarters had only 85 people. That’s what you do to build high-performance teams: You give people autonomy and then hold them accountable. Autonomy builds ownership. And that’s what results in high performance.

 Last question: How would you summarize your three critical lessons on building high-performing teams?

One, effective leadership is critical. Having the right leader with the right values and culture in mind. Two, picking the right people on the team is more important than who does what — deciding who’s on the team and who’s not on the team. And the third is trust building. Trust and authenticity are critical. L

Building High Performance Teams

There is more to just reading and talking about leadership — you have to do it. Students seek to gain experience with interdisciplinary teams.

BY ELIZABETH HALPIN and BRYAN C. PRICE, Ph.D.

RESEARCH HAS shown that diverse teams outperform those that are less diverse. We know that today’s college students will be entering the most diverse workforce in history. It is more multigenerational, multicultural

and multi-gendered than ever before, a trend that will not abate any time soon. The Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) projects created in Seton Hall’s Buccino Leadership Institute allow students to experience the challenges of building and leading diverse teams in a unique way.

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM PROJECTS

IDT projects are a semester-long, low-stakes learning lab of team dynamics. Teams of eight to nine students choose a project that will positively impact the Institute, the University and/or the

larger community. Each team of students chooses a team leader and spends the semester developing the project with a culminating team presentation to their class.

In the introductory IDT project program, Institute faculty determine the composition of the teams and provide a list of projects they are to choose from.

In the advanced IDT project program, which takes place the following year, the students choose the projects and teams. Some of the unique features of this project include our method for project selection and the drafting of team members. Students from across the University are invited to pitch their best ideas. The class votes on the best pitches to determine which projects will be implemented. We have had an eclectic array of project ideas: a sports leadership camp for underprivileged youth, a professional clothing closet for students in need, a student club dedicated to public-speaking skills, and a get-out-the-vote civil engagement project, to name but a few.

LEARNING FROM IDTs The Draft

One of the most exciting parts of our projects is the advanced IDT project draft. IDT leaders participate in a live, fantasy football-style “snake” draft, during which they get to draft and “hire” their team members. The only rule of the draft is that leaders must select at least one member from every one of the six participating colleges/schools at Seton Hall to be part of their team.

To choose their draft picks, leaders review several supporting elements. The DISC assessment measures behaviors including dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance to determine how we react and communicate in situations. Leaders can

use the DISC assessment results of their classmates to ensure they have team members of differing styles and diversity of thought.

In addition, leaders review a twominute personal pitch recorded by each student, which is used to assist leaders in determining fit and finding team members with the particular skills needed to complete the project. Leaders are also given access to how each student in the draft voted during the project pitches to determine which students were most enthusiastic about their project.

When the draft is complete, faculty members discuss with the leaders their methodology in selecting their team. Did they take diversity into account? What information was most useful in helping them make their decisions? As the team works together toward the goal, faculty mentors observe and discuss with the team the benefits of diversity and the drawbacks when there is a lack of it.

One faculty mentor pointed out to a team that all of the behind-the-scenes tasks had been assigned to the women on one of the teams, while the forwardfacing tasks had been assigned to the men. The team learned important lessons about unconscious bias and women’s unique challenges in leadership positions.

Effective Communication

Student leaders learn how to assert themselves and contribute to a team. They learn that others have different perspectives and different talents. They observe their peers to gain an understanding of what they value and dislike in leadership styles. They reflect on the feedback they receive from peers and their team mentors to enhance their performance in the next year.

In the advanced IDT project, students employ more effective communication strategies, observing their team members’ nonverbal cues, employing attentive listening strategies and asking introverted team members for their input. They spend time working on conflict management rather than avoidance.

One IDT leader noticed one of her team members was not as present and engaged as his counterparts, so she met with him separately twice to understand why and address his concerns. She paired him with a team member he trusted to complete a portion of the project, and he started to engage more at meetings and became a valued contributor to the final product. He was proud of his involvement.

Strategy

Students often start with an egalitarian approach to their team presentations in the first year. Often, every team member is given a speaking role in the final presentation. More often in the advanced IDT projects, presentations are made by those most skilled in presenting or those with the strongest leadership roles on the team. These presentations are more professional, more polished, and flow better.

In the introductory IDT projects, decisions are frequently made by the

you will have many ideas I could not come up with, so I want to hear your voices, I want your pushback. I want us to be in this together.”

Students build a level of professionalism in learning to work with one another over the course of the semester. In the advanced project, they learn to invest more time in goal setting, strategy, intentionality and reflection.

Feedback

A faculty or upperclassmen mentor is assigned to each team to observe and give both team and individual feedback. Students also watch a recorded session to observe the team’s behaviors and their own behaviors with a more objective eye. They are often shocked by how little they participated in the meeting or how rude something they said sounded.

lowest among his teammates. He accepted the feedback from his team and used it to improve his skills and attitude. He worked with the professional coach assigned to him to work on his technique and style during his advanced IDT process, and, ultimately, was rated the most valuable member on that team.

Team Building

One of the advanced teams decided in their first meeting not to do any icebreakers to get to know one another

most gregarious or confident team member sharing an idea and the rest of the team following. In the advanced IDT, students pay more attention to decision-making processes. The team leader is more involved in the strategy around decision making, based on their leadership style. The team is more in tune with how decision making aligns with goals. Students are more strategic about asking for disparate voices and counter opinions to identify blind spots and improve the final product.

One team leader began his first meeting like this: “I know this project originates with my idea, but this is as much your project as mine, and I know

In their peer feedback, team members are ranked by their fellow team members in the order of their contributions, from most valuable to least valuable. Students also provide quantitative scores and qualitative feedback to justify those scores. For many, this is the first time they’ve ever received authentic feedback about their leadership effectiveness. While uncomfortable, the effects can be profound. One freshman was ranked

because the leader thought they were a waste of time. By the middle of the semester, in individual check-ins with the leader, the team expressed their concerns that they didn’t feel united in purpose, that they didn’t know each other well enough to trust their fellow teammates, and that they were uncomfortable in meetings.

The leader spent the entire next meeting, which should have been one of their project’s most productive content meetings, doing a team-building experience to make up for the misstep and bring the team together. After doing exercises to build community and get vulnerable together, they worked more productively and effectively toward the goal.

Adaptability

Students learn the importance of agility and calm through adversity. In 2020, our teams started with in-person meetings and were preparing for an in-person

Career Center with more than 300 items of free professional attire available to all students on campus to use for interviews, networking events, presentations and more. The IDT maintains the Closet and secures donations for its upkeep.

project presentation at the culmination of their IDT projects. With the pivot to remote learning in March due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the teams had to adapt quickly to a new working environment. One of our teams had planned an in-person exercise to show off the importance of personal interaction in the classroom. They were forced to change their entire focus for a remote audience. Another team was preparing an onboarding activity for new Buccino Scholars. They had their hearts set on an escape room activity, but after research found that it would be cost prohibitive, they had to pivot their project halfway through the semester.

Outcomes

After the semester, many of our teams have decided to remain together and continue their projects. Some have turned their IDT project into sustaining initiatives in the Institute. These projects have included many of the ideas we mentioned in the project selection section. The Pirate’s Closet is now housed in the University’s

The Voice of Leadership has biweekly meetings for students interested in improving their public-speaking skills. The club, headed by the IDT, allows all students opportunities to learn publicspeaking techniques in a supportive environment, practice giving presentations

to the group and receive feedback.

Students consistently rate their IDT projects among the most impactful elements of their leadership development at Seton Hall. Through this experience, students can experiment with different leadership styles and identify the type of leader they wish to become. They develop strong interdisciplinary relationships that will enhance their network as they go forward into their careers. They learn how to harness the power of having diverse perspectives and leadership styles to create positive outcomes for their team.

Students experiment with different leadership styles to identify the type of leader they wish to become. They develop strong interdisciplinary relationships that will enhance their network as they go forward into their careers.

Value(s) and the Power of Teams

Drawing attention to values that are necessary for effective teams to help countries and companies build a better, equal and fairer world.

REVIEWED BY PAULA ALEXANDER, Ph.D., J.D., and STEPHEN WOOD, M.S.

DOES A BOOK about global topics such as the financial crisis, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing offer any insights on the narrow sphere of managing teams?

Mark Carney’s book Value(s): Building a Better World for All uses these global issues to explore the nature of core values and identify those worth nurturing in any organization. For those of us in business who devote most of our energy analyzing how to measure, quantify and price what we manage, Carney does a terrific job of drawing attention to the foundational values that are necessary for effective teams and companies. Carney pinpoints

these values and argues that countries and companies can build a better world by embedding these values in our business and regulatory institutions.

While our purpose is to benefit from Carney’s insights on core values, we also recognize the vision he offers for ESG is likely to invite spirited debate between liberals and conservatives, as illustrated by Philip Cross’ critique in The National Review (discussed more below).

What are these values? Carney differentiates the concepts of objective vs. subjective value, the foundations of monetary value and the workings of the global financial system. While we think of money as a fairly basic thing — a dollar bill in our wallet poses no mystery to us — the total system of global finance

is a bit more cryptic. Carney writes: Modern money is all about confidence. Confidence that:

➤ The bank notes that people use are real and not counterfeit;

➤ Money will hold its value and not be eroded by inflation;

➤ The burden of debt won’t skyrocket because prices and wages fall in a deflation;

➤ Money will be safe in banks and insurance companies, and won’t disappear even if there’s a depression, a financial crisis or a pandemic.

… Maintaining that confidence requires both sound institutions and broad public acceptance. (p. 89)

And, of course, in recent years, we have faced challenges to every point above.

This notion of broad public acceptance — that the efficient functioning of the market is dependent upon an elusive, unseen (and perhaps fragile) thing called “trust” — is a key lesson found in Value(s). So much of our business and managerial focus is on things we can measure — sales, web site hits, number of accounts, etc. — that we lose sight of the core foundation of the enterprise: trust. Applied to traditional business strategy, trust is the value that underpins brand recognition and loyalty, repeat business, employee retention, and investor confidence.

To build trust, to foster trust, to deserve trust, our organizations need both embedded values and moral leadership. Oxford scholar Ed Brooks identifies virtues supporting moral leadership:

➤ “Humility, which points to our intellectual limits … and uncertainty in which we live;

➤ Humanity, which aspires to a feeling of solidarity…; and

➤ Hope, which raises our ambitions for the future.” (p. 381)

Carney lays the foundation for identifying and embracing value(s) in having purpose. “Purpose is what an organization stands for, why it does what it does and what it should be trusted to deliver. … Companies exist to improve our lives, expand our horizons and solve societies problems, both large and small.”

Carney endorses Sir John Kay’s view: “Profit is no more the purpose of business than breathing is the purpose of living.” (pp. 382-383)

Carney dares to ask, “To what extent does stakeholder value maximization ultimately lead to the maximization of returns to shareholders — a divine coincidence of cake and eating? Or should it be recognized (and celebrated) that by honoring society’s values some of a company’s contributions will accrue to stakeholders other than shareholders and

Value(s): Building A Better World for All

by Mark Carney 1 Hachette Book Group, New York, 2021

to broader society?” (p. 383)

Having put the question on the table about purpose beyond profit, Carney returns to the necessity of profits: “But just as breathing is essential to living, profit is essential to the delivery of purpose over time. Purpose therefore requires balancing the core values of dynamism, responsibility, fairness, solidarity and sustainability.” (p. 383) From Carney’s extensive analysis of the pandemic, the virtue of resiliency emerges as well. It is natural for a central banker to cast a wary eye on the functioning of markets, (especially a central banker who was on the frontlines of the financial crisis). Carney identifies some of the elements of the market “playing field.” He zeroes in on several institutions that are critical to market economies:

Most fundamentally, property rights allow people to own and generate capital without undue fear of theft … The prospect of owning the fruits of their labours incentivizes

people to strive and innovate. Recorded ownership allows people to secure credit … Without protection of contract rights, commercial business would be limited to instantaneous transactions … Other key institutions determine the ease of establishing, running and winding down a business. They set the terms for obtaining permits, accessing finance, paying taxes, trading across borders and managing insolvency. Such economic institutions make possible the ‘gale of creative destruction’ of new ideas and new firms.”

Although institutions provide the framework for how markets should function, they are meaningless if citizens don’t comply. … the informal constraints that guide our behavior, such as customs, conventions and taboos – what (Adam) Smith would have termed ‘moral sentiments.’ When complementary to formal structures, these norms ensure compliance and fill in legal cracks. … In these regards, values are not just fundamental to the health of institutions, they are the institutions themselves. (p. 469)

Carney urges collaboration between business and the regulatory institutions of government to pursue climate action, impact investing and building value for all.

COUNTERPOINT

No one would argue that we should promote the opposite of Carney’s values, or strive to undermine the goals of human flourishing or building a better world. But there is a battleground for debate on two fronts. First, are these the only values, or the highest-priority values?

Second, once embraced, what is the best way to achieve the manifestation of these values in our society?

Philip Cross in his review of Value(s) for The National Review2 raises the

concern that Carney’s espoused values are arbitrary and contrived to support a “liberal” agenda. Cross advocates a different battery of values identified by Nobel Prize recipient Edmond Phelps: innovation, independence, initiative, achievement and acceptance of competition. Cross argues that Carney “ignores the way that capitalism encourages independence, self-reliance, accountability, competition and originality that create both better people and better products.”

Cross thinks that Carney goes too far by blaming “a crisis of values.” Therein lie grounds for debate.

Those who trust markets to solve societal problems argue Smith’s invisible hand will discipline managers who fail to grasp the importance of unseen values. Other market participants will capitalize on these failures. The virtue of this construct is we need not agree on value(s): The invisible hand will resolve the debate for us. Optimality is found via the simple expedient of individuals trading on their own (or their firm’s) self-interest.

Does the “invisible hand” really work? Carney identifies three big myths about markets: “This time will be different;” “markets always clear;” and “markets are moral.” In addition to these myths, he adds the insight, “if it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense.” The landscape is littered with examples of the latter — Bernie Madoff, Enron, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. While we might argue that those failures are examples of proper market function (because the failures were eventually found out), when failures turn into financial contagion, as seen in the financial crisis, or if our economy is beset by literal contagion, as found in the pandemic, what emerges is a deeper understanding of value.

So, the battle lines are drawn. Do we heed Carney’s critique of markets? Do we heed his call, attending to the values of resiliency, sustainability, solidarity and humanity? Or do we extol independence, competition, initiative and independence? Is Carney’s advice doomed to the trash heap of do-gooders’ ideas, or is there something to “build a better world,” as Carney’s title suggests?

IMPLICATION ON TEAMS

High-performing teams are known to have strong cultures and high cohesiveness. While it may be difficult to pinpoint a single set of characteristic values found in all high-performing teams, the “glue” for binding the group together and the basis for strong culture are core values that are widely shared.3 Additionally, the team members should have a high level of trust, not only in their understanding of the values, but in their mutual commitment to them. Teams must ultimately choose values appropriate for the mission; identifying, nurturing, sharing these values, as well as building trust among members are important tasks for leaders.

Our hope is for our readers to see through the false dichotomy posed by Cross’ critique of Carney and to resist the urge to cast a book about values as a

“advancing a liberal narrative.” Both sets of values as posited by Cross and Carney are important and not mutually exclusive. Carney is arguing for the health of the market platform, the arena in which markets are to function efficiently. The playing field must be level, the officials unbiased, the rules of the game clear, the equipment safe for players, and on and on. The game being played, of course, needs strategy, exertion, originality and all the qualities we seek in high (and virtuous) performance.

The insights Carney provides on the notion of value and the revelation of value are valuable to all regardless of the reader’s proclivity to embrace or oppose his recommendations for building value in our societal institutions.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND DEBATE

Does a business leader have a purpose? As we advance in leadership roles throughout our careers, do we also advance in our own sense of self-worth? Do we look to have a life of purpose? Is how we lead our business integral to discovering and manifesting our personal purpose?

Philip Cross, in his book review, argues that the values identified by Carney are arbitrary. He raises a fair question: How do we identify what is virtuous and fundamental to organizational and economic health? L

2 See Philip Cross, “Value(s) without Value,” National Review, April 23, 2021.

1 About Mark Carney: Mark Carney writes from a perspective gained from long service in global financial markets, including governorships at both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada. He is the head of impact investing at one of the world’s largest alternative investment management companies, and he is the U.N. special envoy on climate action. Value(s), published in 2021, covers an wide range of current topics, including the financial crisis, climate change and the response to the COVID pandemic.

3 Greg Satell and Cathy Windschitl, “High-Performing Teams Start with a Culture of Shared Values,” Harvard Business Review, May 11, 2021.

“In the case of all things which have several parts and in which the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts, there is a cause; for even in bodies contact is the cause of unity in some cases and in others viscosity or some other such quality.”

– Aristotle, Book VIII, 1045a.8-10.

1908 translation by W.D. Ross

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