How to Build More Effective Teams With ‘CQ’

In my last blog I said that ‘high CQ teams’ are boring – and compared to the circus that accompanies ‘low CQ teams’ I suppose they are. You know the kind (count your blessings if you are not actually having to work in one) – every major project turns into an epic struggle of sanity versus dysfunctional politics and fog-ducking. Scott Adams has created a very successful career based solely on the antics of ‘Dilbert Land’. In case you were curious, here are the eight characteristics of High CQ Teams:

  1. They are able to share the stress and strain evenly (notice the word evenly) throughout the team- like a tennis racket taking the impact of the ball and spreading it across the entire racket surface.
  2. They have a strong network of connection and support between its members. This accelerates learning and enables the teams reaction time to be faster and more responsive to challenges from the environment.
  3. They achieve their objectives more through people and less through politics.
  4. They look after its own. Individuals are not left to fend for them selves and staff retention is higher because people feel a stronger sense of community and belonging.
  5. They have a ‘team charter’ and have bought into what their team is ‘for’.
  6. They are well connected with other teams and know what the corporate objectives are and are able to consistently work towards them.
  7. They constantly replenish themselves, growing its members, and are constantly learning to better adapt to their environment.
  8. Finally a High CQ Team displays a strong sense of meaningful participation which it’s members are all connected to.

High CQ team are already out there and as the importance of collaborative intelligence becomes more recognized, more will emerge. The retirement of Baby Boomers and growing influence of ‘Gen Y’ will also bring CQ into center stage within organizations. Gen Y value highly many of the characteristics of high CQ teams. Companies that realize this and act on it will be able to take advantage of this very significant demographic shift.