Teamwork is an Art

Joel Feldman

To work, is to work together. While this is certainly true in any organization, even those in business for themselves find they must interact and collaborate with others. A team is created whenever two or more are gathered together in the spirit of getting something done. In my experience, whether it is two or twenty, many of the same processes and problems present themselves. There is good news and bad news about this, and that is what this column explores.

It has been said that a camel is a horse designed by committee. At some point in your working life, you have probably been on one of those committees where you ended up designing a camel. (Not that camels aren’t brilliant creatures in and of themselves, especially if you’re setting off on a desert adventure). How is it possible that a group of intelligent people, working together on a project could get so off target? As they say, shift happens. There is a task that everyone says they understand: to design a horse. There are many discussions, with different opinions expressed about how to accomplish that task. At a critical juncture, someone powerful wonders out loud how our product will fare in the country of one of our best customers, which just happens to include a lot of desert. One can only imagine the gruesome fate of this particular team, as untold experts in water conservation systems are called in as consultants. Believe it or not, this is not an uncommon scenario in corporate America. The good news is that it is possible to learn how to navigate the sometimes murky waters of collaboration.

Teamwork Rule # 1-Everyone is a genius at something. Be patient, your turn is coming.

To begin with, any good decision making process will contain several distinct steps, each requiring different skills and moving at different speeds. Each of these steps will naturally please or displease certain members of your team. The brainstorming or accumulating phase is where the creative thinkers excel. It is fast moving and benefits from those who can more easily think in “out of the box” ways. When you can see the big picture, numerous options seem possible. Once ideas are generated a new task awaits the team The information you have collected needs some organization. The process usually slows down as the team enters what I call the “deliberation process.” It’s a great help to have people on the team who love to do this type of work. During the fast and furious brainstorming phase, some of them may have been sitting there quietly frustrated and wondering why you were wasting their time generating all those impractical ideas. But now is their moment to shine, while the creative thinkers complain, often out loud, about why the process is moving so slowly.

Teamwork Rule # 2: Understand what your Back Up Behavior is and instead of acting out let the group know what you need.

A big challenge for any team is keeping everyone participating fully throughout the entire process. After all, why involve someone if they don’t have something significant to offer? When they’re not engaged it’s a loss for everyone. When someone on a team is disgruntled or feels uninvolved they usually respond with “Back Up Behavior”. This means they feel backed into a corner and the quality of their participation changes. Back Up Behaviors come in several different predictable styles. Some people become very quiet, usually if the speed of presentation or discussion is moving too fast. With these folks, hours can go by before you even hear from them again. On the other hand, some get frustrated with the process and all of a sudden they’re up front taking over the leadership and telling everyone else what to do. Both are dysfunctional solutions brought about by the inability, unwillingness or lack of structure to talk openly about concerns and needs. Such discussions, in my experience, lead to not only a more enjoyable team experience, but also a better, more easily implemented product.

Teamwork Rule # 3-A successful team does what they need to so that everyone is moving in the same direction together.

Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay coach knew about teamwork and Back Up Behavior. The following story illustrates his understanding of each person’s importance to a team. It is said that whenever he finished explaining a new play to the whole team, he’d turn to look at the slowest thinker (we’ll call him Fritz) and ask him to go through the play again for everyone. Why ? Vince knew that if Fritz understood the play, everyone else certainly would have. If he didn’t get it, it didn’t matter if the whole rest of the team did. The only way they could guarantee success is if everyone understood. When working on a project with a team of people, we all become Fritz’s at some time or another. This is absolutely normal and predictable. For one person it may come when the team gets bogged down in endless details and it seems like you’ll never get an answer, which you really needed yesterday. For another when the latest new manager thinks they have the best solution (one you’ve failed endlessly to implement) and they’re just “sick of hearing how it can’t be done”.

Teamwork Rule # 4-Celebrate your differences and learn how to work with the natural conflict they bring out.

In order to generate far-reaching and practical decisions team members must have a combination of complimentary skills. No perfect manager exists who has all these qualities (Sorry, but studies show this to be true). Someone may be a great visionary and see the big picture in a flash. Another may be able to effortlessly grasp all of the minute financial and operational; still another may be extremely sensitive to the needs of those who will implement the project. There is usually one type that is so proficient at getting things accomplished they want to do it all by themselves. In order to have well-balanced decision making, planning and implementation, it is best to create a team that contains an assortment of all these types. The challenge is that when you invite all these different viewpoints and abilities, you are also inviting the conflict that naturally comes with them. Skillfully managing these inherent differences is essential and the lack thereof is often the downfall of working teams. When well integrated, mutual trust and respect will be a secondary, but extremely beneficial outcome for your working group. You will need large doses of patience and a willingness to communicate honestly and openly throughout a team project. Takes work, but the results are worth it.

Teamwork Rule # 5-Winning teams not only value but constantly reinforce each person’s unique contribution to the success of the team.

The beauty of a team is that when truly effective, its results will be substantially better than the sum of those individual’s work. That is called synergy. Great teams know about this and strive to find the complimentary effect of each player’s style. Whether we talk about he championship Boston Celtics teams of the 1980’s or the Bulls of the 1990’s, each one showed us what teamwork could achieve. On those teams, not everyone needed to be a star, but each played a starring role in their own way. A great shooter was made better by a great passer. Great offense was complimented and enhanced by great defensive effort. In hockey, the role of “enforcer”, a tough guy that intimidates opponents has often been used to compliment a team of skilled performers. Usually a smart coach will find such “role players” and make excellent use of the skills they have. It is up to the rest of the team to let them do what they do best. When working with others, it is essential that each person be aware of what skills they do and do not bring to the table. They also need the ability to see and value the skills that others bring. This is easily said, but not easily practiced. Competition and conflict are always lurking in the shadows when people work together. When a group of people can let go of their personal egos for a larger purpose (winning championships vs. individual statistics) successful teams are born.

Teamwork is a learned skill. It takes time and practice to succeed at it. Because of the recent popularity of teamwork, so many organizations quickly placed groups of people together and hoped for a positive result. Most were sorely disappointed when the results proved disastrous and thus teamwork got somewhat of a bad name. My experience is that great teams are indeed possible and that with the right skills and support are capable of producing brilliant results. They must be entered into wisely, for the right reasons, and provided the resources needed to help them succeed. If you remember my five rules for great teamwork you can save yourself and your teammates a lot of grief and a lot of time. You might even be pleasantly surprised with an outcome that surpasses everyone’s expectations.

All rights reserved. JOEL FELDMAN, CPCC AND KATE FELDMAN, MSW, LCSW
The Conscious Relationships Institute, Durango, CO. www.consciousrelationships.com

JOEL FELDMAN, CPCC AND KATE FELDMAN, MSW, LCSW
The Conscious Relationships Institute Durango, CO

Whether you’re single or part of a couple, we’re passionate about helping you create the most fulfilling relationships with the people you love. We believe the future of humanity depends upon people skillfully and consciously loving each other and their children. We want to help end the cycle of generational wounding that gets passed on through families, communities, nations, and our global family. Specifically, our approach will facilitate you in experiential exploration of yourself and educate you in the practice of new relationship behaviors and skills.

We are a couple working on our own relationship. Our relationship services are based on our personal experimentation and practice. We promise you a safe, opening and transformative experience in which to learn and practice the relational skills we share with you.

We have been helping couples, singles, and groups create satisfying relationships for nearly thirty years. Joel is a certified life skills coach, couples therapist, mediator and organizational consultant. Kate is a licensed psychotherapist whose focus is relationship transformation for couples and individuals. Our background includes Imago Relationship, Gestalt, and Family systems therapies, as well as EMDR. We were both founding members of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the largest residential wellness center on the east coast. Recently we realized a long time dream of bringing into our lives more adventure, sunshine, and connection to nature by relocating to southern Colorado from Massachusetts.

Please contact us...

Joel: 970-259-7585; Kate 970-259-3424