Building a Rapid Response Team - Part 2

Building a Rapid Response Team – Part 2

In the previous blog we defined what a rapid response team is and why it is needed today. In this blog we explore the skills and behaviors needed in everyone on the team. Let’s go back to the definition for a second because the definition defines the skills and behaviors needed.

A Rapid Response Team is a skilled, disciplined, and interdisciplinary team who can successfully work independently & collaboratively in a variety of complex situations to create success with minimum supervision on a daily basis. When I read the definition three types of skills & behaviors stand out: position skills & behaviors, rapid response team skills & behaviors, and the behaviors of growth.

Position Skills & Behaviors

Position skills & behaviors are the skills & behaviors needed for the person to be successful in their primary role. These could be sales skills & behaviors, customer service skills & behaviors, analytical skills & behaviors, data processing skills & behaviors, or whatever is connected to the person’s primary role. Most people will be in primary position mode 60-70% of their time during a week.

Rapid Response Skills & Behaviors

When the call is to work collaborative with others in simple and complex situations, another set of skills & behaviors is needed. These skills & behaviors are in five categories: 

• Communication
• Collaboration
• Problem solving
• Decision making
• Innovation skills

These are very essential skills for success. It is important that you hire for these skills & behaviors, train people in how to apply these skills, and reinforce the application of them consistently. The most common mistake we see today is leaders assuming that people have these skills & behaviors when they are hired. As a result, these is little training in how to use these skills & behaviors in the organization. When people come into your organization, they bring their own set of assumptions about what good communication, collaboration, problem solving, decision making, and innovation look like. This is always based on their life and work experience. Their definition, though, may not be what you need in your organization. Train, develop, and reinforce the application of these Rapid Response Team skills & behaviors in YOUR organization to accelerate performance and growth.

The Behaviors of Growth

The final set of skills & behaviors are the 3 behaviors of growth and the skills that are connected to them. This is the most overlooked set of skills & behaviors. Why? Leaders usually assume that people possess them rather than verifying that they possess them. The reality is that these are the most important behaviors & skills you need in your team. When people have embodied the behaviors of growth, the position skills and the Rapid Response Team skills are easy to develop and apply. Without the behaviors of growth, though, you will struggle to build a dynamic team that helps you drive growth.

Here are the behaviors of growth:  The ability to see, anticipate, and respond in ways that support role growth, team growth, and organizational growth. Most people have these to some degree, but they may not be at the level you need to create the growth you want. If you discover this in the people you hire, do not get upset. It is often the reality when you hire people. With most people, there is always some assembly required. This is why training and development are essential to create the growth you want.

Connected to the behaviors of growth are 3 key skills: awareness, initiative, & discipline. Incorporate these into your training & development process and people will quickly build the behaviors of growth in their daily routine.

Recruiting, Training, & Developing

When you bring people into your organization you are getting exactly what your hiring processes creates. Always keep this question in mind, “Do you want doers of tasks or drivers of growth?” In a rapid response team, you always want drivers of growth in every role – regardless of the role. Follow these guidelines when recruiting, training, and developing people in your organization.

• Recruit for mindset, skillset, and track record.
• Recruit for history of learning, mastering, and applying the rapid response skills.
• Asked detailed questions about how the person has applied the behaviors of growth in their daily work in previous employment
• Train leaders, individuals, & teams to map and master the processes that drive organizational, team, and individual success.
• Train leaders to apply growth mapping with everyone on their team.

People costs are still the largest line item in every organization’s budget. Invest the time to help everyone master the position skills, rapid response team skills, and behaviors of growth and you will be rewarded with a growth culture that drives organizational growth.