Teamwork Makes the Team Work

Few people enjoy difficult conversations because they're difficult. I know I've avoided many over the years and probably missed out on some great ideas as a result.

When people talk about teamwork, they often picture harmony. Everyone getting along. Everyone thinking the same way. Everyone moving in the same direction.

We Won't Always Agree

Some of the best teams challenge ideas, ask tough questions, and bring different perspectives to the discussion. What makes them effective is trust. If you know your team has your back even if your ideas aren't awesome, you will suggest more.

Trust allows people to speak honestly. It's an environment where the best ideas can emerge and people aren't protecting their egos or worrying about perceptions.

Keep Your Head Down

Too many organizations confuse compliance with teamwork. If everyone agrees in every meeting, it may not be alignment. It may be silence. Real teamwork requires courage. The courage to contribute, listen, admit mistakes, and support decisions even when your preferred option isn't chosen. 

The strongest teams understand that individual talent matters, but collective effort wins, and the next time you think about teamwork, don't ask whether everyone agrees, but whether people feel valued, trusted, and willing to help one another succeed, because that's where teamwork begins.

And that's where great results are built.  ____________________________________________________________

Demographics and Assumptions

We live in a time when there can be 3-4 generations inside your company; sometimes within each department or team. That can provide dynamic collaboration. Yes, age is just a number, but it's a deeper issue than birthdays. There are socioeconomic and psychographic complexities if you have teams with members in many demographics.

I'm a walking contradiction because I'm a big fan of assessments, analytical data, and research, but I'm also not a fan of sweeping generalizations. Men are this; women like that; baby boomers prefer that; millennials are like this, etc. Nothing replaces one-on-one conversations to assess each and every person your team.

There's a right way to get on the bus.

I was recently involved in an on-boarding exercise that was far less than optimal. There were a lot of assumptions; the new employee was left to "figure it out" with no formal training; while biases and assumptions made it an excellent study in how to not bring in a new employee.

Do your research and get to know the different styles and preferences of each age group within your company; then drop the data and have human conversations while adopting one key element.

Keep an open mind policy.
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Accepted Behavior

8:13 Tuesday morning

Glen is late again for the weekly sales meeting. It’s the third week in a row. He says there’s a lot going on in the morning with day care and school buses and making lunches for the kids and traffic. So the sales manager surveys the team and discovers four other members are dealing with similar issues. She carefully asks the entire team – so to not hinder those who don’t have kids – whether it would help if the meeting was moved to 8:30. Everyone agrees.

8:42 Tuesday morning – four weeks later

Glen is late for the third time. What would you do as sales manager? Most fall into two categories – yell at Glen or ignore it and hope it goes away. Neither is wise. People have kids, families, life outside of work as they should, but the sales meeting is 8:30 Tuesday mornings – moved because Glen couldn't make it for the original 8am time – and if everyone else can make it, so can Glen. There will always be exceptions, but the sales manager and Glen should deal with it and not inconvenience the team again. Or Glen may need to have his future freed up to find somewhere else to meet.

I was speaking with a colleague this week about deadlines. She says a member of her team is habitually late on projects. I asked for clarification whether it was every deadline and she said yes. Every time her colleague is given a target, she misses it.

Several Options

First, you could fire her, which is a bit rash. Second, you could create fake deadlines that are ahead of the real ones so the rest of the team isn't negatively affected by the person who is always late, which is a bit ridiculous. Third, talk to her and tell her if she is late again, refer to the first option. Or fourth, dig deeper on why she’s late – what is the deep rooted reason for this behavior?

It’s easy to say she doesn't respect the fact she’s holding everyone up by being late, but there could very well be a deeper issue here. One thought, she may have never been reprimanded for missing deadlines so her motivation isn't there. It's hard to believe she simply doesn't respect the rest of the team but that can't be ruled out either. Or she may think deadlines are for others and not her.

Two Perpetrators

The person missing the deadline and the person who accepts the behavior own this situation. We don't have difficult conversations because they are difficult but while avoiding a firm chat with one member of the team, the rest will know you’re avoiding the issue and may decide to miss a deadline or two themselves since it doesn't seem to be important. That would be a shame and create a much bigger issue.

Years ago I had to finally let a team member go after he was late seven times. He showed up on that last occasion with a fresh take-out coffee which was a nice touch.

The behavior we accept is often what we continue to receive.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Progress

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