The Pleasure of Teamwork

Oh, I can't do that title justice.  Entire books are written about teambuilding, performance of great teams, what it takes to operate as a team.

No, I'm here to tell you about my team experience.  For as many managers as I've had, and as many teams as I've been a part of, I'm ashamed to admit that I have only had a real team feeling a couple of times in my career.

What is that team feeling?  When you're part of a team firing on all cylinders, it feels good.  Not just good; it feels awesome.  As if you all friction is gone, you can be yourself, and know that you're all succeeding together, whatever the task, or whatever the odds.  Productivity becomes the natural state, and the days fly by effortlessly as you're building something great and doing it together.

Trust, The Key Underpinning of a Team

In his brilliant book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team", Patrick Lencioni identifies the number one dysfunction of a team, the one without which nothing will ever go right, as trust.  I couldn't agree more.  Thinking back to the teams I've been on, the teams I've seen from afar, and the teams I've left, the good ones have always had solid trust not only between members, but also between the members and the leader.

Trust is key.  When you know what others expect of you, and you know what you can count on others for, it's a great feeling.  It's knowing that you're all in it together and that no one has any vested interest in playing petty political games for personal gain. Knowing that you don't have to watch your back because everyone on the team's got yours.  And you've got theirs.

Knowledge of Roles

Great harmony comes from knowing the roles of all the people on the team, knowing where their boundaries start and end, knowing where yours begin and end.  The knowledge of where skills overlap and you can delegate, or count on others to catch anything you might be about to drop because of juggling.

One key role, however, is the role of the team itself.  This role, what I think of as the team's missions, their reason to exist, must be clear and focused.  The team has to know why it exists, what other teams expect of it, and how to function in the greater organization.

A Cautionary Tale About Team Roles

I was talking to the head of an unnamed IT department a while ago and asked them about the team structure they employed.  There were a number of easily identifiable teams, but after the head of IT enumerated the groups, there were still a number of individuals unaccounted for.  Those folks all reported to the same manager.  I asked what that team's mission was, or what they did.

I was met with a blank stare.  I was told that they didn't really have a role, a mission.  I didn't argue the point very long, but privately noted that it's very difficult to motivate people on a team to be their best if not only they didn't know what they should be doing, in principle, but even the people that employed them at the highest level couldn't and wouldn't articulate it.

Enabling People to Step Up

There seem to be two schools of thought on people.  One, that people are lazy cows to be reluctantly milked of whatever minimal amount of work you can squeeze out of them, or two, that people are dynamic, excited individuals that want to contribute to the best of their ability and are excited when they are doing good work.

I believe that on balance, people are not lazy freeloaders.  I believe they want to contribute.  Sure, all of us have seen people become disengaged and not perform well, but I believe them to be the exception rather than the rule.

But many people are also quite nervous.  Maybe they suffer Impostor Syndrome.  Maybe they fear failing.  Maybe they worry about looking like fools if they try something beyond their comfort zone.  If someone manages to overcome their self-doubt and fear, steps up, and volunteers to take something on, give them some room to run.  Help and encourage them to grow.  Don't force them to remain in the role they're in, even if they're excellent at it.  Give them some boundaries, but absolutely let them step up.  If you don't, you end up with a monkey-banana-water situation.

Team Leadership

Teams do not need a manager; they need a leader.  It may seem like semantics, but a manager is an individual that manages budgets, timelines, tasks, time allocations, and so on.  Management of those things is a skill unto itself, and a great manager is indispensable, so I'm not casting aspersions on the discipline of management.  Teams do not need a manager; projects do.

Management and leadership are two very different things.  Teams need a leader, a great leader or leadership body that inspires, rather than commands.  One that has a vision, communicates it, but also is willing to incorporate ideas from everyone, no matter what the source.  One that leads, and not from behind.  The one that's staying up all night getting stuff done to make that vision come together.

The Best Team to Which I've Ever Contributed

The volunteer organization that puts together That Conference is a great team.  They are, bar none, the best team I've ever had the pleasure of working on.  They exhibit selfless behaviors, have patience and trust, know their skills and roles, and in Clark Sell we have one of the most charismatic and inspirational leaders that I've ever worked with.  Despite all the work I've done over the years, putting together the first couple years of That Conference is probably the work I'm most proud of, and I look forward to spreading the message and the technology for years to come.

Hope to see you all there in 2014!  August 11-13, 2014 at the Kalahari resort in the lovely Wisconsin Dells.

Summary

What's gonna work?  Teamwork.  Bloody right, Wonderpets.