In an effort to do a fun activity with my four year old son, I recently started a little project that captured the results of teamwork over a sustain period of time. This idea stemmed from my son asking for a pet, and me wanting to find a simple, easy, maintenance free alternative.
I reference this as a “project,” because when I helped my boy select and purchase our Ant Farm, I had an underlying motive to observe the teamwork exhibited by these insects. Ants are known for their teamwork, and used as an example in the book The Team Approach. My intent was not just simply observing them, but documenting them for others to see. Our period of observation lasted 14 days and below are a few observations of Ant teamwork in action:
Upon the ants being placed into the farm, they immediately began to work. It was clear they had a combined objective which was to find a way to the light which represents the surface. It was from the very beginning that teamwork to accomplish the task at hand is everyone’s responsibility. The mission for the ants was to dig tunnels and from minute one they all appeared committed to this goal.
When one ant gets trapped due to a tunnel collapse, a small portion of the team stops working and focuses solely on freeing the pinned individual. They value each team member and the contribution they make. These ants seemed very aware of the needs of others and willingly offered help when the pressure was on.
They have clearly defined processes of where to dig tunnels and where to remove and place the excavated waste from the tunnel. They even have a process on where to put deceased ants and ant waste. Unfortunately, all of our Ants did not survive our observation period.
They project was running 24 hours a day. Some ants sleep or rest, while others continued the work. Once they have completed an element of their mission, they move onto the next one. They work with an intensity any organizations team would want.
They work well across functions because of a shared vision to guide their actions. If ants were digging from two separate points towards each other, they were always able to meet in the middle.
There is a strong sense of community and the ants appear to be connected and unified. One of the ways ants communicate with each other is by touching each other’s Antenna. In a strong community, community, communication is openly shared and people feel safe and secure to persist through challenges.
It makes the point that even lower life forms create organizations and team with roles, structures, and processes for their leaders and members.
– Team Team Approach
See this teamwork in action for yourself and watch the video clip below. There are approximately 25 ants working together over a period of 14 day. Through time lapse you can observe these 14 day in under 1 minute.
From the beginning of this project, it was clear that Teamwork in and of itself would be required between a father and his young curious son. Aside from my boy moving the camera, moving the ant farm, turning off the computer, or turning on the lights, it was a success.
In many ways, ant colonies are similar to human organizations: they work, play, and keep pets. Although small, they are incredibly strong. Often ants will team up, two or more to drag a caterpillar that is several times their weight back to the colony. – Team Team Approach
An interesting fact: It is estimated that there are 1,666,666 ants to every one human being
When you think of a team, what comes to mind? A basketball, football or soccer team? Or simply a group of professionals working together? Have geese ever come to mind as a working team? My mother once wrote a poem about a flock of geese and simply stated, why they fly together and it reminded me of the saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together.”
Birds of a feather, flock together:
Have you e’er been walking and seen in the sky
A flock of geese flying and perhaps wondered why?
They fly in a V-shape—not in some other form
Such as small groups or large groups or straight as the norm.
No feathered brain fowl, these geese really know
How to travel efficiently where e’er they go.
The V has a purpose, aerodynamically smart,
Those birds are good buddies; each one does its part.
They’ve got a neat system that’s often been shown
To provide for hurt geese so they’re not left alone.
And although their squawking won’t make a sweet song,
They honk to encourage each other along.
There’s rarely a goose with its neck out of joint
Cuz each one gets its chance to fly at the point.
So there’s never a leader too tired to lead
For each goose is primed for its turn when there’s need.
All of the creatures live lives that can teach
Us humans some lessons! And geese surely preach
How to learn and to lead, to build up and to bond
Why geese can show teammates how they could respond
To each other like geese as they fly. Don’t you think?
We could be Team Honkers and teammates in sinc?
By Linda Pederson 3/29/94
This simple poem has some very powerful advice regarding teams and teamwork:
• Teamwork sometimes requires an individual sacrifice. Just as the geese make sure that if one of their group needs to fall back, another is with them, such should be the motto of a team. No one is left behind; in idea sharing, team building or assignments.
• There is not a universal definition of a team. Teams are made up of people, animals, sub-groups, etc. The authors of the Team Approach , Dr. Steven Stowell and Stephanie Mead also contend that there are stunning parallels of the forces of teamwork , which are observable, between nature and what we see in modern organizations. They make the case that a team’s success is everyone’s responsibility.
Next time your eyes gaze upwards at the flying V in the sky, remember…all this “teamwork stuff” is not simply for the birds.
Recently, I was leaving a local arena with my family after attending a hockey game. Our local winter weather tears our roads apart and therefore created some necessary road work to be done that was in currently in progress. Therefore, instead of two lanes leading north out of the parking lot there was only one lane and it didn’t take very long until several cars including ours were boxed in.The car in front of us was crowded with young people eager to get going. In order to get out of the parking spot and into the traffic, a girl stepped out of the car to direct traffic. She stood in front of the next car in the exit line blocking the car. An act, we often see.
However, the act infuriated the blocked car’s driver. With a smirk on drivers face and a “me first” attitude, the driver eased the car forward almost pinning the young girl between the two cars. While people in both cars were too impatient for the situation, the driver’s action was potentially dangerous. Had the driver accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake, the girl would have been badly injured if not killed. This driver’s “me first” attitude was noticed by several other drivers. In an unspoken group effort, the errant driver was deliberately boxed in for several extra minutes while others exited.
With the all the negative news on television, radio and newsprint, many people may demonstrate this “me first” mentality. We can understand their fear, as no one wants to lose their job, income, or current standard of living. Yet, this mentality harms not only harms team members and the organization, but that person’s competence and performance as well. When their intentions are to prove their personal importance, they tend to make less desirable decisions, sabotage other’s efforts, and in the end bring their fear to fruition.
As a leader you can do many things to help avert this “me first” behavior. Consider the following as you choose your course of action
Remain positive in your speech and actions. Your team will reflect your attitude; if you are positive, team members will feel more secure.
Keep communication lines open with everyone. Don’t keep secrets. Secrets have a way of being shared and peoples trust in you can be lost.
Give constant and honest feedback. Don’t lie; people recognize a lie very quickly. Lies generate fear.
Encourage innovation and creativity. Ask them to look for processes that can streamline, boost efficiency, or increase savings. Make them a part of the solution.
Impress on individuals that through team effort the organization can survive a negative environment. There is power in numbers if corrective action is taken.
Encourage employee development through training. Training increases the feeling of security (If the organization values me enough to train me, then I am important).
If you remain optimistic, the members will respond in a like manner. Your team will not continue to perform proficiently but serve as a model of teamwork to others in the organization.
Recently I related a story about a burger chain and the combined effort of 5 employees to make one 20 ounce cup of Joe. The number of people needed to fulfill the task grew as each team member added his/her expertise to the task at hand, and together the team found the direction to go. Eventually, with the help of a team approach, the task was completed. As we dig a bit deeper into the realm of Teamwork, there were 2 additional elements that I found important as I related the incident. Teamwork is not merely a “good idea” but essential in today’s fast paced, ever-changing world.
In their book, The Team Approach, Dr. Steven Stowell and Stephanie Mead give two key points on just how important teamwork is in our everyday lives – first, Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility, and second, Teamwork must have a direction- not only a solution. Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility. Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” How can we consider ourselves a member of a team and yet, watch as one of our members’ struggles without help? We have to ask ourselves are we truly a team or simply observers? As I watched (as an observer) employee #1 struggle with the task at hand, he was at a dead end within seconds of starting. The more team members who got involved in the completion of the task, the narrower the margin of error became, the less time it took to complete the task, and the lower the level of negative emotions. It is said that “Two heads are better than one” well…what about 3, 4, or 5?
Teamwork must have a purpose. This implies that each member of the team must have a clear direction as well as a solution. A goal is a great starting point, but how do you reach your goal without some sense of direction? The team I observed had a very obvious purpose: to fulfill the order of a customer. However, the direction soon became unclear when employee #1 had trouble completing the goal. As each additional member became involved, teamwork approached evolved and the pathway to the goal grew shorter. More work done in less time.
I never thought I would see the day when it would take 5 people to make one 20 ounce cup of mocha coffee, but what a learning experience it was for me. It showed me how to be a more effective team member in my own realm of work, home and civic responsibilities. As we remember that Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility and do whatever it takes to achieve a purpose, it may take 10, 20, 50 people to complete what we see as one of the most common tasks. The end result however, is to be a part of the team, not merely an observer.
In a previous a previous post, Developing Leaders for Tought Times – Part 1, I wrote about an article on a study conducted by Development Dimensions International. It was so intriguing to me that I tracked down the entire study and have been looking at it in greater detail. Naturally, I have a particular interest in the topic of leadership as I have built a career on it. I have discovered over the years that not everyone agrees with me about the importance of developing today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. But the evidence in this study is compelling: 37% of leaders fail (42% in Asia and 28% in Western Europe) and if you look further into the sources of a leader’s downfall, Leadership/Interpersonal Skills and Strategic (or Visionary) Skills are at the top of the list of reasons.
From my perspective, this is good news because these are leadership competencies that can be developed through sustained training and development initiatives such as coaching, teamwork, strategic thinking, change management, and fundamental leadership qualities. Despite the economic constraints facing many organizations, my hope is that more businesses begin to recognize that a greater number of leaders can be successful and contribute to a company’s bottom line performance when they have well-developed, and sustained interpersonal and strategic skills.
A few days ago, my son came to me with a difficult decision. He was debating whether or not to stay in his position. The problem was that he had been having some difficulty with his team leader. As a member of a team, he felt a responsibility to keep this leader informed about the project he was supporting. However, whenever my son met with this leader he became frustrated and often felt devalued. This leader is addicted to his Blackberry. He acts as though the device and what it was conveying was more important than any information my son had to give. Because of this lack of attention, this leader too often missed the important information my son tried to convey.
Dr. Steven Stowell and Ms. Stephanie Mead explain in their book, The Team Approach: With Teamwork Anything is Possible, there are eight internal forces that short circuit teamwork. Two of these, “excessive pursuit of self interest” and “inflated egos and intimidation” seem to fit the way my son felt about his supervisor. I have to admit when I first read these forces I assumed that the authors were talking about the executive who does anything (ethical or not) to get up the ladder.
Excessive pursuit of self interest covers much more than the narcissist; it also covers those who think they are so busy that they fail to acknowledge those around them. When you pay more attention to incoming calls, emails, and interruptions you are silently telling the one you are suppose to be talking to that they are not worthy of your time or not valuable in your estimation. In this case, the information that my son tried to share with the boss and was ignored, lead to an embarrassing situation when the boss was unable to explain why a project was behind to a major client. More importantly, this embarrassing situation happened in a group meeting with representatives from all the different companies involved in the project.
When this boss returned from the meeting, a memo was sent out that was both intimidating and unduly demanding. If only he had listened when my son met with him, he would have known the information he needed and the embarrassment experienced by the boss and the organization would have been avoided. Obviously, my son has a decrease of trust and respect for this person. Dr. Stowell and Ms. Mead state, “Trust and respect are fragile and are earned over time through genuine actions.”
If you don’t take time to listen and assimilate all the information you are going to be embarrassed or caught off guard. How can you assume that you know where to go or how to answer if you don’t have all the information about the situation ahead? To quote Joe Namath, “To be a leader, you have to make people want to follow you, and nobody wants to follow someone who doesn’t know where he is going.” Are you too involved with the activity beasts in your life to hear those people around you?
Sadly, while my son liked his job and wanted to stay, he felt that he had to leave the organization. Think about the costs to the organization when this lack of trust , respect, and courtesy is exhibited. How much does it cost to replace team members? How much transition time does it take to learn the business? How long will it take for your client’s confidence in you and your organization be restored? Isn’t it more cost effective to spend the few minutes of complete attention to a colleague?
A final thought. Communication between team members is essential to the success of the team. But just as critical is the basic recognition that each member is valued and important enough to be listened to. James Humes said, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.’
During the past few months I have facilitated several team development training sessions. Teamwork is a favorite topic of mine and one I have a lot of passion for. World class teams, in my opinion, are something that can be achieved as long as the right ingredients are present and consistently used. Lately, I have recognized an interesting pattern in these team development sessions – one or more individuals will approach me during a break with the same question. Their question goes something like this, “I am on this team that just doesn’t quite reach its potential. What can I do about it?”
The benefit of this question is that at least one member of the team recognizes some flaws and is looking for guidance on how to influence and change the team for the better. Of course from my standpoint, I need more information to give appropriate suggestions as to what to do. But, after digging a little deeper and getting more information, the same problems seem to be occurring within the majority of teams. The common themes typically are:
1. The team isn’t very focused.
2. Team meetings are not effective.
3. Certain members are working harder than others on the team, causing frustration and negatively impacting cohesion and unity.
Within these themes, the element that is commonly missing, which causes these symptoms to surface, is processes. I have found that when teams have frustration, it can often be traced to lack of processes, or processes not being used, or processes that are outdated, or even processes not being followed correctly. Regardless of the problem, teams need to take a serious look at their processes.
One of the reasons process improvements continues to be a vital aspect of an organization is because of frequent changes in the marketplace. Paradigms change and the goals of the organization and the team change regularly. Because of change, processes must be in place to ensure stability and constancy.
Teams with process issues need to be prepared to question them. Some of my recommended questions would be:
1. What processes do we need to create and follow to have efficient meetings that produce the results we are all seeking?
2. What processes do we need to eliminate or modify that are hindering our success currently and will continue to affect us in the future if we don’t so something about it now?
3. Does the whole team understand our processes and are we committed to following them from now on?
Processes are the playbook by which teams operate. When team members don’t understand the playbook, the rules, and the tools that are in place to create success, teams do not reach their potential. If your team is not quite reaching its full potential take a hard look at your processes and see how well your team is following and using your playbook.
I was recently shown an article that described a newer “video game” that involved teamwork in order to achieve success. As the “controller,” you are in command of a group of one or more teams. Communication to the team is critical. Sounds simple enough, but the trick is you’re communicating everything remotely to players around the world.
The article and game caused me to think of Generation Y. Throughout this past year I’ve been asked on numerous occasions if companies are experiencing difficulties with teamwork between older employees and younger generation employees. I have heard this from multiple organizations and I am sure that it’s a challenge that won’t go away anytime soon.
It’s always funny to me how certain age groups are categorized by the generic Generation definitions. I myself am on the border line, but more on the Generation X side. I guess it fits me fine. I like to think of myself as much younger in spirit than many in my age group and especially those just a couple years older.
There are those who might feel the younger generation has been raised on video games and have missed out on developing social skills. I’m confident that there is a bit of truth to that, but I also believe they have learned a new form of social skills that many of us have missed out on. Communication and personal interaction, today, often involves the internet or teleconferencing.
Working remotely or tele-commuting is becoming more popular all the time, especially, with rising costs to commute. The reality is face to face interaction may become less prevalent – for good or bad. Those in the workforce who grew up playing these types of video games may have an advantage. The teamwork skills they’ve learned while playing these games may allow them to better utilize technology in their organization or team.
This being said, tele-commuting can also cause a person to feel disassociated with the team. This younger generation may be those who remember our remote employees and teach us how to include and engage them. Ensuring remote employees are involved in meetings, discussions, and decisions will make a team feel more connected and increase overall performance.
The Senior Leadership Team is the crux to successful strategy execution within any organization. A great team can take a flawed strategy and turn it into something really exciting, but a dysfunctional team can wreak havoc on the best strategy in the world. In CMOE’s 30 years of experience in helping organizations around the world, we have seen that a quality leadership team is the catalyst that drives change and propels the organization through difficult or seemingly impossible obstacles.
A senior leadership team that is in sync can and will adjust to changing market conditions, competition threats and can navigate the organization through a sea of uncertainty. In fact, effective strategy execution requires active and courageous leadership at many levels (they instill a “can do” spirit through courageous coaching, feedback and accountability). Talented leaders will create an environment that makes it easier to achieve innovations, improve productivity, and fuel superior value proposition for customers. The key to this is:
• information flow
• information about customers
• opportunities
• innovative ideas
• competitor moves
• operational problems
The leadership team has to sponsor vertical and horizontal information flow across functional silos. A successful vertical information flow allows everyone in the organization to understand, contribute, and hold each other accountable for completing tasks required to accomplishing the strategy. Leading horizontal collaboration and connectivity unleashes motivation and growth ideas as well as cost, quality, and process concepts to truly keep your organization on top of the heap and differentiate you from your competitors.
The senior leadership team has to work in unison to have successful strategy formulation and execution. Unfortunately, many senior groups are made up of high-performing individuals who haven’t learned how to be a high-performing team.
In order to add value to the organization and create long-term sustained growth, senior teams must have the following:
1. A deep level of trust and openness when ideas and data are being exchanged.
2. Willingness to collaborate and network within the team.
3. A seniorlead group who is willing to examine how it solves problems and makes decisions.
4. A group who supports the organization’s core rules and procedures.
5. Members who actively support the team consensus on key issues and do not undermine the group’s decisions.
6. Members who are comfortable with conflict and differences.
7. A willingness to give and receive feedback from each other.
8. Flexibility and sensitivity around the needs, personalities and thinking styles of the various members; members must understand and appreciate the unique nature of each member.
Achieving success with any strategy is a significant achievement.
Cold and Flu season has been in full force the past few months. It seems that every individual in our office has been affected in one way or another. If not themselves, it’s been a team or family member hit hard by the latest “sickness” that happens to be going around. I would advise against taking them any hot chicken noodle soup. In doing so, you might be tempted to take a little work to your sick teammate. Avoiding this temptation will be better for you and your teammate in the long run. You want your teammate better as soon as possible. Have the soup delivered instead!
Much like your family or area in which you live, your workplace team is a community. Linked together for the common good, there is a certain level of interdependence. When affected by the cold and flu season, our team understands that everyone will “step up” and give a little extra in support for those unable to hold their own.
When a team member falls short, we must get involved and make sure that the team does not fail. It isn’t selfish, but reality is if the team doesn’t perform and succeed, it is a reflection on us all.
The trust and respect of all team members for each other fosters good will and a sense of security. That feeling of belonging and safety allows us to know that even if we are out with the flu, our team has our backs; assuring projects and deadlines are being met, taking care of customer needs, and following up with urgent matters.
I mention the cold and flu season as an example and because this is actually happening within our office, but the reality is that there are many events in our lives that will force us to depend on others; if we’re lucky, a team. The security of knowing you’re not on your own is the true meaning of teamwork.
I reference this as a “project,” because when I helped my boy select and purchase our Ant Farm, I had an underlying motive to observe the teamwork exhibited by these insects. Ants are known for their teamwork, and used as an example in the book The Team Approach. My intent was not just simply observing them, but documenting them for others to see. Our period of observation lasted 14 days and below are a few observations of Ant teamwork in action:
When you think of a team, what comes to mind? A basketball, football or soccer team? Or simply a group of professionals working together? Have geese ever come to mind as a working team? My mother once wrote a poem about a flock of geese and simply stated, why they fly together and it reminded me of the saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together.”
However, the act infuriated the blocked car’s driver. With a smirk on drivers face and a “me first” attitude, the driver eased the car forward almost pinning the young girl between the two cars. While people in both cars were too impatient for the situation, the driver’s action was potentially dangerous. Had the driver accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake, the girl would have been badly injured if not killed. This driver’s “me first” attitude was noticed by several other drivers. In an unspoken group effort, the errant driver was deliberately boxed in for several extra minutes while others exited.
In their book, The Team Approach, Dr. Steven Stowell and Stephanie Mead give two key points on just how important teamwork is in our everyday lives – first, Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility, and second, Teamwork must have a direction- not only a solution.
A few days ago, my son came to me with a difficult decision. He was debating whether or not to stay in his position. The problem was that he had been having some difficulty with his team leader. As a member of a team, he felt a responsibility to keep this leader informed about the project he was supporting. However, whenever my son met with this leader he became frustrated and often felt devalued. This leader is addicted to his Blackberry. He acts as though the device and what it was conveying was more important than any information my son had to give. Because of this lack of attention, this leader too often missed the important information my son tried to convey.
Processes are the playbook by which teams operate. When team members don’t understand the playbook, the rules, and the tools that are in place to create success, teams do not reach their potential. If your team is not quite reaching its full potential take a hard look at your processes and see how well your team is following and using your playbook.
There are those who might feel the younger generation has been raised on video games and have missed out on developing social skills. I’m confident that there is a bit of truth to that, but I also believe they have learned a new form of social skills that many of us have missed out on. Communication and personal interaction, today, often involves the internet or teleconferencing.
