‘There’s no ‘I’ in team but there is in win’ said Michael Jordan, widely considered to be the best basketball player of all time. And he was right, but his perspective was that of a top athlete. Most teams in business comprise ordinary people, many of whom would rather be on the bench.
Teamwork is one of the most overused words in business culture. Often invoked in the hope that a disparate group of employees will pull off a miracle. In most teams one or two people do all the work, while everyone else makes copious notes to avoid eye contact and engagement. If you are a productive person, this will frustrate you.
Many people would rather work alone because they believe they can focus better that way. The tech world is full of such people, running on IQ rather than EQ. Meanwhile, emotionally sensitive employees may find themselves teamed up with colleagues they don’t like. Imagine how productive that’s going to be!
Social Science has established that team dynamics often suppress creativity and can lead to irrational decision-making based on ‘groupthink’. Even the reasons that many teams are assembled are negative: trying to save a customer relationship, or prevent a financial loss. This creates an anxious atmosphere, especially when managers include employees implicated in the problem.
The answer is not to abandon the concept of teamwork, but to be more considered and deliberate in setting teams up for success. The ability to do this is sometimes found in managers but, in my experience, it usually takes a leader to assemble a productive team and set them off in the right direction. Over the coming weeks I’ll be sharing some thoughts on enabling teams, so let’s begin with a few basics.
Every team needs a captain - who really wants the role. Managers often pick the wrong person because she appears bright or opinionated. But that’s just the kind of personality that will close down contributions from other members. Good team leaders understand what needs to be done and realise that they can’t do it all themselves. Instead, they work on the glue that holds the team together and push for higher standards.
In the practice of culture change we understand that teams must be able to visualise the successful outcome of the task and articulate who will benefit. This gives them fuel for the journey. The belief that there is, or soon will be, a better way to do something. And they need to create a safe environment where they can disagree without being disagreeable. Challenging each other constructively; never belittling another team member.
Chris Harrison leads The Brand Inside
www.thebrandinsideafrica.com
