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If I were to ask you how many teams you are a member of, would you say more than one? Do you play on a sports team? Do you volunteer on a community team? Are you a participant in a bunch of teams at work?

Teams are the way most organizations manage their projects today, as hierarchies and multi-levels of management are becoming dinosaurs. In many companies I work, I see leaders joining or being assigned to different types of teams simultaneously. Although each team has a critical purpose in meeting a particular business or community need, it can sometimes be challenging for leaders to actively participate and juggle their many different roles. The result is “team jockeying” which can be very overwhelming, as people are being asked to continuously switch gears, form new team norms and achieve high performance in a short period of time. How can one lead effectively if they are constantly swinging between two or more competing teams?

We talked about this very issue in a Building A High Performing Team workshop this past week. Clearly the leaders were burning out with their involvement in so many different teams, especially when the teams were somewhat dysfunctional. This is what they shared:

  • People aren’t listening to one another
  • Roles are uncertain
  • No one is taking responsibility and there is a lot of blaming
  • There is a sense of apathy
  • The project keeps getting delayed

[Tweet “High performing teams are made up up accountable leaders.”]

In high performing teams there is effective and transparent communication as well as team members who listen to one another strategically. Each person has a clear understanding of their responsibilities and takes ownership for their mistakes. Team members care about one another and are committed to the goal and deadline.

 THE YARN EXPERIMENT

One way to understand why a team might not be performing as well as it could is to first look at how each person depends on one another to get their job done well. We formed a circle and I handed a ball of yarn to one individual. I asked them to toss the ball to someone who they depended on to accomplish their job. Before throwing the yarn, they had to explain why they chose that person. Each participant received the ball, held onto a piece of the yarn and then threw it to someone else until everyone had an opportunity to share. A magnificent web began to emerge, divulging a huge interconnection of pieces of yarn. When we finished we all looked at the visual and smiled, realizing how much we depend on one another to achieve our goals.

 GET ACQUAINTED

We then talked about ways to cultivate stronger relationships on our teams.

[Tweet “When we take interest in what matters to others, we are leading.”]

Here are some ways to open up the doors to connecting:

  • Learn about each other’s backgrounds
  • Find out what brings them excitement or joy
  • Ask where they see their careers going and what new skills they want to attain

 USE A METAPHOR TO EXPLORE DYSFUNCTION

It is always easier to talk about a challenge using a metaphor. After learning about the four phases of team development: forming, storming, norming and performing, we looked at each of their team commitments through the eyes of a zoo.

What was going on in the zoo?

Was there a zookeeper?

Were the animals being fed and nourished?

Were the animals bickering or snarling at one another?

What needed to change to create an extraordinary zoo?

How do you balance all the teams you are part of? How have you prevented team overload?

 

 

 

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