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team

What kind of team are we?

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What kind of team are we?

Everyone loves to talk about teamwork.  Consults will consult.  Writers will write.  Leaders will lead.  And all of them are obsessed with teamwork.

But recently, I was watching my daughter’s track meet and thought about all the different types of teams that exist.  Each one requiring different types of teamwork.  We often don’t think about that in a work environment, even though we see examples of all of these in our workplaces.

Basketball (or soccer or football):  In this team sport, each player has a role, plays that they run, and they are constantly communicating to react successfully to new competitive conditions.  They share a common time clock, a common score board, a common uniform, a common coach, and are all playing the same game.  They are all striving to make or assist with the making of points.  The work group is an example of this kind of team.  Coming together, each representing a role or a strength, to collaborative work on a single deliverable, project, or document.   The key to results of this kind of team is aptitude and attitude.  If the individuals know their own strengths and weaknesses, and that of their teammates and can work selflessly towards the team goal, then greatness can be achieved.

Relay: In a relay team, each player has a role, but they don’t play them at the same time.  They, too, are constantly communicating, but only to assure successful hand-offs.  They share a common time clock, score board, and possibly a common uniform.  Each person on the team is running, but they are placed in position because of their relative strengths and speed.  They are dividing and conquering a larger task (in this case, a race) by breaking it into individual pieces.  A service escalation is this kind of team.  The first leg might be done by a customer service agent on the phone.  Then the problem is escalated to a technician, to a service manager, and then to an engineer.  Throughout, there is a common time clock and a common goal of customer issue resolution.  Everyone is doing similar jobs, but are doing it in their own way.  The key to achievement with this team is individual competence and the game is won or lost at the hand-offs.

Track and Field: The larger team, of which a relay is a part, is a loose affiliate of people who are all performing in tandem to rack up points for their overall team.  They are all in the same location (the track meet) and subject to the same environmental conditions and priorities.  Yet, they are all doing their own things.  Often in tandem (with field events happening the same time as running events).  Often together (as is the case with the relay team).  But each person is an individual contributor doing their best, which results in team achievement.  But you can’t ask a pole vaulter to anchor the 4 x 100 relay team and you can’t ask the person doing the 3,000 meters to throw the shot put.  A product launch is an example of this.  Web site content and brochures can’t be written until the messaging is complete, but that is often done by a different group.  Messaging benefits from a thorough understanding of features and benefits.  Features can’t be known until the engineering finalizes the design.  And those features can’t be determined or prioritized without market requirements.  Together these can show customers why the product is a winner, but each step of the process is quite unique and not interchangeable.  The key to achievement with this team is getting individuals to perform their best.

There are many other types of teams that can follow these and other patterns.  Debate teams work a bit like the relay and a track and field team.  Choirs are like relays in many ways, as the blending and the music reading is like the hand-offs.  Cleaning and painting crews can be more like a basketball team.  Kitchen staff or wait staff in restaurants can mimic all of these at times.  The key to any type of teamwork is for the group to first recognize what kind of teamwork is required.

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5 Ways to Tame the Animals You Work With

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5 Ways to Tame the Animals You Work With

A lot has been written about biomimicry and the inspiration that product designers get from studying nature — the skeletal structure of a flying squirrel informing the design of drones or the layered butterfly wing to help create optical coatings for displays. And I’ve been thinking about how interpersonal relationships also mimic the natural world. Some days, especially stressful ones, I am reminded that we are all animals and need to find ways to work with animals.

Below are five common animal defense systems that I’ve seen demonstrated in the workplace (and, certainly, in myself) that might help us tame our instincts (which have both benefits and cause problems) and our environments. By better understanding ourselves and each other, we can better react to perceived threats and leverage our natural abilities to overcome conflicts and work better as a team.

Cobra: When threatened, the snake rises up and make itself look bigger to scare away would-be predators. In our relationships, this shows up as verbal defensiveness. In a business setting, people who mimic cobras often change their posture stand and speak loudly to exude confidence, and often interrupt others. Their emphatic statements might be so persuasive they parade as facts. At their best, they provide passion, clarity and a sense of mission to their team. At their worst, they can be bullies or manipulators. They do all of this in order to put the idea forward more aggressively when others object, and can become dogmatic.

If you are a cobra:   When you feel like you need to be bigger, louder, or more aggressive, consider instead the power of gentle persuasion and the need to listen completely to the other side before reacting out of impulse. I must admit that I have cobra tendencies and would be served by choosing not to react, but rather to respond thoughtfully when under pressure.

If you are working with a cobra: As a cobra, I respond well when teammates push back with new data points and different perspectives. I would encourage colleagues not to let the scary hood or confidence dissuade them from presenting an alternative views. Cobras can be poor (or incomplete) listeners and need people to tell them the truth and help them refine their gut feelings (which trigger the defense mechanism) to help others see their perspective without feeling threatened.

Turtle: The turtle has been immortalized in folk tales as a slow-moving, methodical animal. An animal who wears his defense mechanism on his sleeve, literally. When threatened, the plodding animal gives up any forward progress, to recess into his shell and hide until the threat has passed. I have seen this pattern many times in my colleagues or team mates, a slow-and-steady person, who only agreed to change on a step-by-step basis and will retreat into their shells until everyone can just agree and get along. As turtles don’t need facts to retreat into their shells, they might not even be able to articulate in words what threat is perceived and what might result from the threat. At their best, they provide a comprehensive, well thought out plan and long term direction. At their worst, turtles procrastinate deadlines and decisions, which stalls progress and can delay results.

If you are a turtle: When you feel the temptation to retreat, assess the real threat. Consider the consequences of the worst case scenario and the benefits and drawbacks of making a change. Consider talking to someone who has a bolder approach for their advice. The goal is to determine if there is a way to step out of your comfort zone and start the changing process, or if the threats must be resolved before you leave your shell.

If you are working with a turtle: I have found communication to be key to effectively team with a turtle. It is important to be proactive with the turtle before the defense mechanism is triggered by a complaint or concern. Break down the larger projects and priorities into their pieces, showing the step-by-step processes and how to mitigate risk along the way. Clearly outline roles, responsibilities and decision makers so the turtle knows who to connect with if questions and or suggestions arise.

Electric Eel: The electric eel is ready with 600 volts of electricity to dole out to any would-be predator. There is no negotiation or posturing. There is no hiding. There is only attack. I have certainly worked with many eels. Eels are sharp — armed with data, analysis, and opinion, the eel can unload on anyone who disagrees with them with a current of logical arguments and justifications. They can have a tendency to belittle others, leaving them writhing on the ground after an encounter. At their best, eels are knowledgeable and persuasive. At their worst, they use the threat of retaliation as a deterrent to keep people from disagreeing with them, often unwittingly. Gliding along in their own “everyone agrees with me world,” they may not know that people are not being honest with them or alerting them to potential issues.

If you are an eel: I would encourage you to balance your initial approach with a committed desire for long-term relationship. Think about the person, not just the power you have. You might win the argument with a co-worker and force others into submission, but that isn’t good teamwork. Remember that the focus of your energy should be positive encouragement, not disparaging comments. Make sure you wield data, not shame.

If you work with an eel: Make sure you do your homework. Know your stuff and be prepared for a sting. Dig into the data with them, which might help get the eel on the same side of the negotiating table with you, rather than see themselves in an adversarial role.  And if you get stung, there are several approaches to take, but the one that will lead to the most respect is to stand up for yourself. It may be extremely hard, but the bravery it takes to say “that’s not okay” and “here is how you should have responded,” can take the amperage out and put you back at a power parity with your eel colleague.

Sea Cucumber: This very strange animal has an unusual defense mechanism: it surrenders. The highly pliable organism can break itself into pieces, sacrificing body parts (including organs) to a predator until the predator is preoccupied and the sea cucumber (or what is left of it) can get way. It wants to end the conflict as soon as possible and retreat to where it can heal. In the workplace, these are often the soft spoken colleagues who are less likely to take a contrary (and never a combative) view with the group. They are eager to please and just want everyone to get along and mind their own. The problem with this approach is that their valuable perspectives are never shared, which does harm the team and empowers more aggressive colleagues. At their best, their empathy and willingness to pitch in can help the team complete tasks. At their worst, they can be an easy target and take the brunt of bullying.

If you are a sea cucumber: Think about how you can best engage and give your ideas without having to sacrifice yourself. Have confidence that the team deserves your participation. Also, consider that the relative costs of speaking up in the moment is more effective and valuable than having to nurse wounds or regrow body parts later.

If you work with a sea cucumber: I find speaking with reclusive teammates is most beneficial in a 1:1 or smaller setting. If I see that a colleague has taken a brunt of tension-filled meeting and not spoken up, I try to draw them out of their tendency of self-sacrifice to encourage them communicate their ideas and perspectives.

Grizzly Bears: One of the few animals with no natural-born predators, I think we can all learn from the grizzly bears to be a more effective team. Unarmed, even a clever human can’t beat the bear. She doesn’t have to inflict, hide in the woods, or rise up to scare away people to stay alive, because she is capable of all of those things. She doesn’t have to be defensive, because she has power.

By recognizing our own characteristics, we can combine our natural strengths to harness the confidence of the cobra, the thoughtfulness of the turtle, the healing powers of the sea cucumber, and the knowledge of the eel. By leveraging our defensive tendencies into powerful tools, we can be a team of grizzly bears — working together to influence others, to excite change, to achieve greatness. 

The work of taming your environment begins with taming yourself. Recognizing your own tendencies and looking for ways to soften your bite or stand your ground might make all the difference. It’s a lesson we are all learning and adaptations we are all making in our effort to team better.

This article was published on LinkedIn Pulse.  

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