First Things First: The Foundation for Catalytic Behaviors

Our field research that underpinned the book, The Catalyst Effect, identified 12 key Competencies and four Cornerstones of catalytic behavior that enable individual contributors to maximize their impact on their teams.

A question is regularly posed by readers and workshop attendees as to whether the competencies should be learned "in sequence", or whether they can be developed independently of one another.

The four Cornerstones are (see more detail at thecatalysteffect.org):

1. Building Credibility: Behaviors essential for developing trust, communicating effectively, and generating belief in what can be achieved.

2. Creating Cohesion: Behaviors that coalesce relationships and propel mission-oriented action.

3. Generating Momentum: Behaviors that elevate and accelerate performance.

4. Amplifying Impact: Behaviors that promote excellence and encourage innovation.

Our answer is "yes" for the most part, the sequence is often important to successful development. Without the foundational competencies of trust and effective two-way communication, the utilization of more complex behaviors is often not effective. Simply put, if I can't trust you to show up on time, demonstrate professional competency and bring to the team a sense of optimism, the behaviors that you demonstrate as an innovator or a coach, for instance (Cornerstone Four), will matter little.

Steven Covey describes trust as "the confidence, and the feelings that one employee has for another employee about their capability and reliability, which is supported by their past actions." He also defined a lack of organizational trust as feelings of ‘suspicion’ between employees.

For example, the star marketing researcher who possesses world-class technical skills will not go far if they are not trusted by peers to show up reliably...and listen effectively. Conversely, that same individual can establish themselves quite quickly by demonstrating the key competencies in Cornerstone One, and generating more influence and impact by also displaying the skills included in Cornerstone Two, Creating Cohesion. In this Cornerstone, effective team members develop cohesion and camaraderie via positive rapport and emotional connections with others, and importantly, they clearly put the team goals ahead of their own individual interests (and make that intention clear to the team).

If you are wondering where to begin in further developing your team skills, consider asking a trusted peer, or two, how they see you "showing up" at team meetings. Are you clearly bringing the competencies defined in the first two Cornerstones to your meetings, your personal interactions? If so, great...continue to build credibility and camaraderie and close any gaps you may have identified. Check the website for more behavioral definitions and examples of the behaviors.

Note: Stay tuned for the next article which will focus on Cornerstones Three and Four of The Catalyst Effect.