HBR Guide to Leading Teams

Simple systems for building strong teams and getting real work done.

According to Mary Shapiro, Most team problems aren’t technical—they’re people problems: unclear goals, fuzzy roles, slow decisions, and accountability that slips. This guide gives you the basics you actually need: how to form the team, set the rules, run the cadence, and keep standards high without turning into HR theater.

What’s inside (in real words)

• Form the right team: choose people on skills and fit; avoid the “warm body” trap.

• Start strong: align on purpose, goals, roles, and rules so Day 1 isn’t guesswork.

• Make decisions faster: clarify who decides, how input is gathered, and when the call gets made.

• Hold people accountable (like adults): clear agreements, visible owners, clean follow-through.

• Fix friction early: practical tools for conflict, resets, and course-corrections.

• Close well: capture lessons, recognize wins, and hand off cleanly.

Why this matters for leaders

Teams with clear goals, crisp roles, and steady rhythms beat talented teams that lack structure. When expectations are explicit, meetings get shorter, work moves faster, and results improve—without burnout.

Big ideas you can use immediately

• Write the team contract. One page: purpose, goals, decision rights, meeting rhythm, and norms.

• Owners over committees. Every priority has a single DRI (Directly Responsible Individual).

• Define “done.” Finish lines are observable and dated—no vague words like “align” or “support.”

• Decision ladder. Label choices as Recommend / Approve / Consult / Inform so everyone knows their role.

• Air issues early. Put risks and conflicts on the table weekly; fix in the open, not in the parking lot.

• Recognition is a system. Praise specific behavior tied to values and outcomes.

Quick team practices (5–10 minutes)

• Goal Check: read the top three team goals out loud; confirm status and next owner.

• Risk & Blockers: each person names one blocker; leader assigns help and due dates.

• RACI Sprint: for a new initiative, sketch Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed in five minutes.

• After-Action 3×3: what worked, what didn’t, what we’ll do differently—capture in three bullets.

• Norms Refresh: pick one meeting habit to start and one to stop for the next two weeks.

30-day rollout (my recommended plan)

• Week 1 – Kickoff with clarity: draft the team contract; confirm goals, roles, and rules.

• Week 2 – Install cadence: weekly standup (20–30 min), monthly review (60 min), decision log live.

• Week 3 – Accountability tools: publish the owner map, start the Risk & Blockers round, and adopt the AAR (After-Action Review).

• Week 4 – Tune & tighten: prune low-value work, reset any unclear roles, and lock next month’s priorities.

Where it helps most

• New or rebuilt teams: start clean and avoid months of confusion.

• Cross-functional projects: faster decisions, fewer handoff misses.

• Field & ops teams: clarity under pressure—safety, quality, and schedule win more often.

• Leadership squads: less politics, more progress.

Who this is for

Owners, executives, supervisors, and emerging leaders who want a no-drama way to run a team: clear agreements, visible work, steady follow-through.

Call to Action

• Skim the guide to grab the core tools.

• Build a one-page team contract this week.

• Run the 30-day rollout and measure the difference in speed and quality.