Teams
A short guide by Dan Collins
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First Published in 2010 by Fresh Publishing Copyright Dan Collins 2010 The moral right of the authors has been asserted. Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make restitution at the earliest opportunity. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 000000000000000000 Typset and design by District-6 www.district-6.com Printed and bound in Great Britain by Good News Digital Books Fresh Publishing PO Box 101 WARE SG11 1WA England www.freshgroup.co.uk
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For my top team: Edward, Robert, Beth and their amazing mum, Rebecca
Contents • To start
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• What is a Team?
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• The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts
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• Champion Players don’t make the Best Team
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• David or Goliath
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• It Takes All Sorts
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• Unlikely Characters make Great Teams
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• Being a Team in Name Alone is Not Enough - Maturity - Openess - Focus - Humility - Trust - Engagement - Measurement
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• Team Leaders Checklist
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• Team Health Check
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• About the author
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To start We’ve worked with hundreds of teams over the past 15 years and it’s surprising just how often the same issues occur. Poor communication comes out as the most common challenge time after time, closely followed by differing goals and bad feeling amongst team members. On a more positive note, we’ve found that if the group spend just a few hours exploring their areas of strength, they can quickly identify ways in which they can overcome their weaknesses and go on not just to be a great team but also a great workplace. In the pages that follow we’ve included a few of our thoughts and findings that will help your team to flourish.
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What is a Team? In the 21st century we might find ourselves in multiple teams spread across different countries, from diverse backgrounds and alongside people with distinct areas of expertise.
Being called ‘Team’ isn’t enough These groups might be organised or informal, led or self governing, labelled as teams, work groups, families or bearing no name. The factor that makes a team is not its name or its membership. The one thing that turns a group of individuals into a true team is their common sense of purpose.
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Whether they are hockey players trying score more points than the opposing side or a business looking to improve profitability, these collections of people only become a true team from the moment they agree on the same desired outcome. “A group of people working towards a shared goal” So, if you and your colleagues don’t share the same purpose, you are not a team. Yet...
Flying Teams As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock has 71% greater flying range. When a goose falls out of formation, it feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. When the lead bird tires, it rotates back into the formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it. Geese flying in formation also honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. 10
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The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts “If five people are all able to assemble a widget, is there any benefit in making them a team?” The saying “Many hands make light work” suggests that teams can be more productive than a group of unconnected individuals. Research carried out by Fresh Tracks repeating an identical team exercise with groups from varied organisations, suggests, that in 70% of cases, when people work together as a team they are more productive.
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Softer, more anecdotal evidence suggests that human beings are essentially sociable. We therefore work better not in isolation but in community. We yearn for the support that others can give, we desire recognition from peers and find the ideas and input from colleagues stimulating. Good teams contain diverse people with complimentary strengths. Although one team member might be very different to another, as a team they are able to achieve more together than either could by working alone.
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Champion Players don’t make the Best Team The Barbarians, nicknamed the “Baa-Baas”, brings together top international rugby union players for one off matches to compete against touring sides. Given that the Baa-Baas are made up of the best players from around the world you’d expect them to win most of their games. Their statistics prove that even a group of the most talented individuals is no match for a true team. Since the Barbarian’s inception in 1915 they have lost or drawn more games than they’ve won (50.8%). Compare this to the New Zealand All Blacks with a win rate of 74% and it’s clear that you don’t simply have to have the best people on your team to be the best.
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Let Go to Grow Starbucks, famed for creating a cosy ‘third place’ between home and work grew from just 17 retail outlets to 5688 spread across 30 countries in the ten years leading up to 2002. A significant contributor to this success is team based working. Typically just 6 ‘partners’ work in each store, creating a strong sense of participation and fellowship. Central management choose to encourage free enterprise in preference to putting in place strict controls and procedures. Store managers are able to operate with autonomy and all employees are encouraged to voice their ideas and opinions. Starbuck’s staggering growth could not have been achieved had Howard Schultz adopted a conventional command and control business model.
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It Takes all Sorts What separates the greatest teams from the rest is their mix of talents and, crucially, their understanding of one anothers’ strengths. There are a number of questionnaires (or psychometrics tools) that can be used to help teams identify their strengths and preferences. When this information is used to assign roles and tasks true teams are formed. All teams need a blend of the following: Gluers – people that motivate, encourage and develop relationships inside and outside the team Creators – people that offer ideas and solve problems, either through analysis or lateral thinking Doers – people that can focus on the task, apply expertise and get the job done Leaders – people that set direction, monitor progress and take decisions These headings shouldn’t be confused with job roles, in fact often the best managers might not score highly in the ‘leader’ area but they will surround themselves with a mix of team members that suits the work they are tasked with achieving. 16
Unlikely Characters make Great Teams Laura Hillenbrands bestseller Seabiscuit: An American Legend later made into a feature film, tells the moving true story of how the unlikely team of a race horse saved from retirement, a half blind and overweight jockey, a hard up owner and a former cowboy inspired their country out from the Great Depression of the 1930s. Inspire your team with the Seabiscuit trailer http://www.youtube.com/atch?v=CVsLMCD-lpE
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Spend a day exploring the strengths that exist within your team, useful tools include Strength Deployment Inventory, Belbin and Stengths Finder
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Being a Team in Name Alone is Not Enough Having the right people on board, in the right roles and led by a strong leader will all help but it’s the day to day behaviours that make a truly great team. Maturity Teams mature over time and with experience. Even adversity can help a team ‘grow up’. Bruce Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing model is as true today as it was in 1965, when he first presented it. Sadly however, too many teams get through the first three stages to reach Norming, then sit back and coast when they should be pushing ahead towards Performing.
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Engagement Virtually all of the research published on the subject of pay and motivation suggests that most of us don’t just work for money. We derive pride from doing a job well, using our minds, interacting with others and most importantly for making a difference. As organisations get ever larger and job roles more specific it is more important than ever to remind people of why their contribution is important. For teams, the fact that a number of people share responsibility for achieving the same goal is immensely powerful. A sense of shared purpose should not only get people out of bed on a Monday morning but it will also lead to smarter working, better decision making and more efficient use of resources.
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Openess Modern communication devices have enabled us to communicate in an instant with people anywhere in the world. For many this has led to an increased number of relationships with consequently fewer significant personal relationships.
Strong teams understand the importance of regular, open communication. Not one-way scripted presentations but two-way dialogues about what’s really happening day by day.
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Openess can even include conflict. Where there is passion there are bound to be conflicting views, it is far better that these are aired, debated and wrestled with than for team members to leave the debate muttering their unspoken views.
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Like the married couple that have never had an argument, the team that has never had a frank exchange of views is sitting on a ticking bomb of built up resentment that might explode at any time with disastrous consequences.
Spend half a day with a specialist facilitator exploring how your team would like to give and receive feedback
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Focus When asked ‘What do you do?’ we often respond in very general terms: I work with technology, pharmaceuticals or finance, for instance. In truth our roles are far more specialised and without expert knowledge, training and experience it is unlikely that the average person could do our job. Teams often present themselves in similarly vague terms, when they should be much more definite, both externally and particularly internally. Some big questions we must ask are: • What is the primary purpose of our team? • Why is this so important? • Where are we up to? • What does ‘excellent’ look like?
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By being crystal clear with these facts it is possible to increase commitment and focus on the results and outcomes that really matter. A failing in the human condition is that most of us will prefer to choose an easier route if we think we can get away with it. In weak teams this means people devote too much time to unimportant issues, preferring to enter into a lengthy discussion over a minor issue rather than grasping the nettle early on before it becomes unwieldy. Strong teams exist in a culture where their purpose is clearly defined and often repeated, so that deviation from the main task amounts to unacceptable behaviour.
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Trust All of our studies and work with many hundreds of teams have reinforced that the quality of a team is directly proportionate to the levels of trust within that team. So, if a team trust their leader and can be open and honest with one another they will be strong. On the other hand if just one team member can’t be trusted then the whole team is weakened. Trust is like a delicate model, it takes time and care to build but even when established is fragile and can be destroyed in an instant. However the benefits far outweigh the weaknesses; where trust exists there is less hierarchy, less bureaucracy, more loyalty, faster decision making and clearer communication.
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PIC OF MATCHSTICK MODEL
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In the 21st century economy billions of pounds are spent on guarding against mistrust. Worse, many productive hours are lost as well paid executives are expected to escalate decisions that they are fully capable of making themselves. Contary to conventional wisdom, the business that places trust in it’s people can gain a significant commercial advantage.
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Read and discuss Trust Unwrapped in your team www.trustunwrapped.com
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Humility Teams contain people and people have egos Egos erode teams. This fact threatens most teams, particularly those made up of high achievers. Unfortunately when we lack humility we fail to own up when we don’t understand what’s going on. Very often our colleagues are equally confused but they too keep quiet, so confusion reigns – silently. In strong teams it’s okay to be vulnerable from time to time, to raise a hand to ask for clarity or to tap a team mate on the shoulder for advice. These behaviours generate accountability - a sense of generosity, forgiveness and willingness to help others, even if that means delivering candid feedback.
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Team Hoyt Team Hoyt came about in the spring of 1977, when disabled Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.” The father and son team have since completed over 1000 challenges ranging from 5k fun runs to triathlons covering Ironman distances.
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Measurement In many organisations this vital contributor to great teams has been overused with league tables, inspections and published targets. The pendulum will doubtless begin to swing the other way in due course but as it does take care to continue to monitor the results that really matter and most importantly to share and discuss them with the team. Set short term achievable targets so that success can be regularly celebrated, creating a culture of achievement.
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Team Leaders Check List • Book some time to have fun as a team • Restate the purpose of your team • Trust your team to take some risks • Have lunch with and really listen to each team member • Establish a weekly update meeting • Give more sincere praise • Get the right people on the bus, in the right seats and the wrong people off the bus • Use the Team Health Check each month to monitor team morale • Restate the purpose of your team, again
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Team Health Check Questionaire 1.
I’m well suited to the role I perform Agree/Disagree
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I would describe one or more of my team mates as friends Agree/Disagree
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Mistakes are forgiven in this team Agree/Disagree
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I’ve received praise from another team member this past week Agree/Disagree
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This team is pulling together towards the same goal Agree/Disagree
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6. My ideas and opinions are listened to Always/Often/Rarely/Never 7.
I get candid feedback from colleagues Always/Often/Rarely/Never
8. We put the needs of the team ahead of our own Always/Often/Rarely/Never 9.
Team meetings are energising Always/Often/Rarely/Never
10. The purpose of this team is ‌.
Submit your completed questionnaires for analysis by Fresh Tracks AND RECEIVE A FREE TEAM HEALTH STATEMENT Complete this online at www.freshtracks.co.uk/teamhealthcheck.htm 39
The author Dan Collins is founder of Fresh Tracks, an innovative provider of management development programmes and events. He is married with 3 children and loves to fly himself and create experiences where others can soar. He is passionate about making work meaningful and fun and looks forward to a day when business considers what it can give, alongside what it can make.
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