It's that time of year again, we are heading for another series of the 'Apprentice' and love it or loath it, in my opinion it is a great opportunity to observe teamwork in it's dysfunctional state.
The very definition of a team i.e. A group of individuals working for a common purpose...is missing. The apprentice candidates demonstrate a group of individuals working for themselves who believe that having a team 'name' automatically gives them the status of a 'Team'.
Lynda Gratton, in her book 'Hotspots' talks about the modern business phenomenon of pitching people against each other i.e. with personal targets/objectives and then putting them under the banner of a team and expecting collective responsibility and cohesion. She describes functional teams as working in 'Hotspots' as opposed to a 'turf war'. My experience of working with teams over many years has often shown the latter to be the case, where individuals will sacrifice the team objective to achieve a personal goal. Individuals work in 'silo's', share little, and have lost sight of the team objective.
Patrick Lencioni, in his book 'The five dysfunctions of a team' describes 'Trust' as the fundamental building block of any team, and a key attribute to achieving any sort of common purpose.
I believe that there is a step before trust that cannot be ignored and that is 'understanding'. Beginning with the individual understanding their own personality, where it works for them, where it can make their lives more challenging and what they bring to the team environment. Moving through to understanding others, valuing every contribution and being open to the possibility that there is not just one way to approach the world. We are all different for a reason.
Understanding builds trust and ensures that individuals feel valued and are not afraid to explore untapped potential, work cohesively and ultimately improve productivity.
Human beings at a base level are pack animals and whilst we don't all have the drive to like the people we work with, we do have the desire to feel included and safe. A happy team will go the extra mile, enjoy the journey and get there faster and more effectively than a team that is dysfunctional. They will have resilience in their collective strength and bounce back faster.
This is why organisations and teams should 'bother' about team transformation, whether they have productive teams who could continue to transform, or 'challenging' teams who should draw a line and start the process all over again.
I am passionate about this subject and feel privileged to be spending much of my working life engaging with organisations who subscribe to this philosophy and invest to transform their teams.
Please feel free to comment/contact me to discuss or debate this subject. Alison Daniels 07795111440. [email protected].