We still don't have a firm understanding on what teamwork means. Let's dive in...
The family and I decided to give "Breakout KC" a try over Labor Day weekend. These interactive puzzle games lock you in a room for 60 minutes with clues to try and find your way out. It's a great example of what teamwork should be. And an even better example of what teamwork isn't.
What Teamwork Isn't
Let's start with what teamwork isn't. Most of what we experience in our corporate cultures under the banner of 'teamwork' isn't really teamwork. It's also why so many of us dread 'teamwork.'
1. Group-Think
During the breakout session, ideas were tossed out in rapid fire succession. There wasn't time for debate. Nor arguing over the tiniest of details. Ideas were tested and either validated or not. Group-think is where innovation goes to die. I've been in group sessions where great ideas have been brought to the table, only to be abandoned because someone didn't like the font used on the proposal; it was debated and so much negativity rose from it that the project was abandoned. Group-think is about egos. And trying to be right. That's not teamwork.
2. Kingdom Building
In the breakout session, your team has one goal: get out of the room. Part of the reason teamwork falls apart in corporate settings is because everyone in the room has their own goals and agendas. Most of the time none of them align with what the real goal should be. Some people come to brainstorming sessions to prove how much smarter they are than everyone else. Others come to the meetings to try and get their own pet projects approved...even if that means derailing other projects. Again, this isn't teamwork.
3. Watch The World Burn
There's a great line in the "The Dark Knight Rises." Alfred tells Bruce "some men just want to watch the world burn." We all work with people like that. Whether they hate their jobs, or their personal life is in shambles, there are some people that would rather watch every single project fall apart.
What Teamwork Is
We can name countless examples of bad teamwork, but I'm guessing it's hard for you to name one good teamwork experience. Let's walk through a few ways to make teamwork a little less painful.
1. Common Goals
Teamwork is working towards common goals. Before the start of a project, program or new service offering...set a few common goals. Get everyone to buy-in to the endpoint. When we understand where we're going...defining the how-we-get-there becomes much easier. Be sure to set specific, measurable goals. Something you can point to and show the team that they either hit the goal or missed. We can't get better if we don't know how we did.
2. Stay In Your Lane
In our breakout session, if all eight of us had worked on the same puzzles at the same time, we would have never made it out. Teamwork isn't about everyone on the project providing input to each component. Teamwork is about focusing specialists on their specialties. Marketing trying to tell an engineer how to code will lead to wasted time and decreased results. Marketing needs to focus on marketing and not take it personally if engineers don't ask them for opinions on what code to use.
3. Encouragement
I'm a big football fan. With every season there are injuries. You can tell which players are true team players and which aren't. Which teammates are on the sidelines clapping? Yelling encouragement? Slapping shoulder pads? They may not be able to contribute on the field, but having a teammate cheering you on, powers you through the next play. And the play after that. Even if you aren't directly involved in a component on the project, cheer on your team. Encourage them. Support them!
Teamwork can win championships but it can also make all-stars ineffective. Teamwork can get you out of a locked room in 59 minutes and 34 seconds (that's right, we barely made it)! Teamwork is uniting under common goals, staying focused on what we're good at and supporting our team. The best way to become a good team? Is to start by being a good teammate.
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