Linda Adams - The Loyalist Team: How Trust, Candor, and Authenticity Create Great Organizations

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to know how to actually build a great team. It is centered on the foundation that great teams are about great relationships that are built on trust and candid feedback. The authors showcase their insight by walking through the good and the bad from the thousands of teams they have worked with, sharing concrete, practical steps any leader can use to improve the culture in their workplace. The Loyalist Team introduces a new paradigm for leadership that is required to compete in todays business world.

Rob Katz, CEO, Vail Resorts, Inc.

The Loyalist Model really took hold here. It is part of the foundation of our culture and values. We have worked with many business consultants, and the Loyalist model stood out as a very effective framework that allowed us to focus on the importance of communal success. We only succeed by helping each other.

Steve Smith, CEO, Equinix

With the Loyalist Team Model, I am really clear about what is required of me as a leader and as importantly what is required of the team to build a really successful Loyalist organization. I know I can never take the human dynamics on a team for granted.

Mike Goodwin, SVP and Chief Information Officer, PetSmart

Trispective has become much more than an external resourcethey have become integral adjunct members of our team. An extension of ourselves. Partners we trust that are fully integrated into the organization. This full integration has ensured alignment on approach, values, language, and desired outcomes. Most importantly, their work has made a lasting and positive difference at Vail Resorts.

Mark Gasta, former Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Vail Resorts Management Company

Right now, this team, my team is the best team I have ever led. Were not perfect, but we are working really hard with the support of Trispective to become a Loyalist Team. I know that we are making progress because of the reactions I see when we are under stress. In recent months, as a business, weve faced some really tough challenges. As we address those challenges, it will create significant opportunities for us. Were charting new territory for this team. The stakes are high, and we have to move quickly. The team has come to me and said, Weve got your back. Lets move forward. We can do this. It feels great, and we are being successful.

Enrique Escalante, CEO, Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua

It helped me enormously to engage with Trispective and the Loyalist Team Model. When I was confronted with a Saboteur, my natural instinct was to fightbut that wasnt getting me anywhere. I really think understanding the model and working with someone who helped me learn how to deal with a Saboteur made all the difference. Using the Loyalist Model, I was able to reframe the situation and move it to a different place, taking into consideration the goals, objectives, and drivers of the Saboteur. I dont know if I would still be here without that.

Grant Wicklund, CEO, Lutheran Medical Center

The most challenging aspect of building a high-performing team is to know and understand each other deeply and to trust one another entirely. Using the Loyalist Team Model, Trispective has supported us in working through the layers of each individual team member to understand who we are. Assuming positive intent on the part of others has opened new, powerful levels of engagement for successful joint outcomes.

Cindy Paulson, Chief Technical Officer, Brown and Caldwell

The biggest difference between good and great teams is the ability to have the hardest conversations in the room, not outside of the room. Using the Loyalist Team framework, my team has become a great team on the way to becoming a Loyalist Team by having the tough conversations. On great teams, everyone respects not just each others opinions but each others values. And the common values of the team make it possible to have the hardest of discussions on the hardest of issuesdiscussions that only make the team stronger.

Tom Boasberg, Superintendent, Denver Public Schools

Some of the toughest lessons Ive learned along my leadership journey have come when Ive underestimated or undervalued the amount of time I need to spend on my team. The Loyalist Team Model provided a framework and understanding of where to invest in my team. Weve been able to get clear about the end goal, through having the uncomfortable conversations, debating the trade-offs, taking the time to really hear each others perspectives, and ultimately making the changes needed to get there, even when it includes changing the team up. Loyalist Teams dont happen, they are built, with hard work every step of the way.

Suzanne Sanchez, Chief Human Resources Officer, Great-West Financial