Make Teamwork Happen

I should have known better.  I was working with a team of experts from diverse organizations to consider a controversial proposal.  The participants were used to working together in previous meetings, and my client didn’t feel like a “team building” activity was necessary.  They said, “That’s just way too ‘kumbaya’ for these technical experts.”

The reality is, whenever you start a meeting (especially in the morning), people need a warm-up activity to engage the mind and senses and set the tone for lively interaction.

Knowing that all teams need some type of “warm up” activity, but faced with resistance, I planned on putting the group into smaller groups to discuss a work activity.  This would then serve as a team-building activity as well as one of the first agenda items.  Good idea, but it took precious time to get past the preliminary politeness to get agreement on the purpose and process of the meeting.  It became so awkward that my client asked to do a team-building activity to energize the group!

This meeting reinforced a basic team principle:  Always do something to break the ice and build the team.  Even if it is a nonthreatening, simple question that you ask everyone to answer, get your teammates involved right up front.

For example, when teams are first forming, ask each team member to complete one of the following statements.  Assure team members that they can pass if they want as well as ask questions for clarity (not to challenge):

• The purpose of this team is to …
• From this team experience, I want to gain/get …
• To help this team succeed, I bring these strengths to the team …
• One thing that makes me a good team player is …
• I am most proud of …
• My most significant accomplishment is …
• My main concern about being on this team is …
• The expertise I bring to this team is …
• The one thing that frustrates me the most about working in teams is …
• To achieve our goal, I think the potential hurdles we might face are …
• My most memorable moment on this team/doing our mission is …

As you listen to the answers, capture the main ideas on a flip chart.  When all have had an opportunity to share, debrief the list by asking, “Are there any common themes?  How does this affect our team’s work?  Is there some action we need to take?” 

This simple starting activity gets everyone involved and energized to focus on the team’s work.

Question:  Do you have other ice breakers that you use prior to your team meeting?

I’m on vacation in Prince Edwards Island with my sweetie, Joseph Sherren and my son, Travis Arnold. Last night, we went to a summer concert at the Victoria Playhouse at Victoria-By-The-Sea.

Liz Carroll, and amazing fiddler from Chicago and John Doyle, an Irish guitar virtuoso have been playing Irish music together for a few years. They have one CD (which we bought) with another one along the way. We were completely mesmerized at their performance!

Much to their delight, Richard Wood a famed fiddler of Chieftan’s fame from Charlottetown, PEI’s capital, agreed to join them onstage for two AMAZING reels - at the end of the first set as well as the final set.

Although they have never practiced these tunes before, it was amazing to watch these three consummate professionals working together. It was a joy to watch each of them compliment each other - one person taking the lead - supporting each other to make beautiful music.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching each of them revel in their music…and each other.

Question: When working with each other, are you reveling in the work that you do? Are you supporting each other to produce a “beautiful” deliverable?

It happens to everyone: You walk into a meeting and no one knows what’s going on. There’s no agenda, but there are multiple items to cover.  You can either dive right on in — or invest a few minutes in creating structure from the chaos.

Quickly hop up out of your seat, grab a flip chart marker and ask, “What do we need to accomplish at this meeting?”  Write down each idea the way it was stated and the name of the person who suggested the idea.  Note:  You are asking the team to identify outcomes or expected reesults — not just a laundry list of topics.

Before you move on to the next step, ask whether everyone understands the outcomes and clarify if necessary.  Combine similar items — if there’s any dissent, assume that the ideas are distinct and should remain separate.  Elapsed time to list the outcomes:  two to five minutes.

Next, take each item and ask the suggesting person how long it will take to achieve the outcome.  If the team disagrees, allow a few seconds for discussion and write down the most agreed-upon time.  Remember:  An agenda is just a roadmap, and the time limits are guideposts.  If the team later agrees that it needs more time, it’ll have the flexibility to adjust the agenda.  Also ask the suggesting person whether he or she would like to lead the discussion.  If not, ask the team for a volunteer.  Beware:  If just one or two people are leading all the items, you’ll end up with a one-way conversation!  Elapsed time to identify time limits and leaders:  two minutes.

Last, prioritize your list.  Most teams have too much to do and not enough time, so it’s critical to start with the most important.  Some teams simply rank the agenda iems, with No. 1 being the most important, No. 2 as the next-most-important, etc.

Or try the ABC concept, where A is vital (we must accomplish this outcome at this meeting, B is important (we should accomplish this outcome) and C is trivial (we could do this, but the world won’t come to an end if we don’t accomplish this today).  When prioritizing, quickly go through the list and ask, “Is this an A, B or C?” and write down the most agreed-upon letter.  Some teams continue to prioritize by sequencing each group of letters, identifyhing A1, A2, A3; B1, B2, B3; and C1, C2, C3.  Elapsed time:  one or two minutes.

You’ve now built your agenda!  Start with the A1 and move through the list.  Total time:  five to 10 minutes — a worthwhile investment to the teams’s work.

Question:  Do you create an agenda before your meeting?

It’s two o’clock in the afternoon and your team has hit the proverbial wall.  Rather than focus on the topic at hand, many would prefer taking a siesta — especially after that huge “z-burger” or hamburger with fries!

Rather than succumb to the team’s distant melodic voices, try to keep focus by:

Keeping It Moving.  Stay within the time frames allotted on the agenda.  Don’t let the team get bogged down on minor, inconsequential matters.  Avoid domination by a few by encouraging others to speak.

Sharing the Load.  Give each team member the responsibility to lead a specific agenda item, record what’s being said, facilitate the discussion, keep time, etc.  No one should be allowed to just sit back and observe.

Breaking It Up.  Rather than scheduling multiple heavy issues in a row, throw in a few “lighter” agenda items as a change of pace.  Or try breaking the meeting into smaller groups to focus on a key task or issue.

Passing on the Heavy Food.  Skip the hot, heavy meals and choose light and healthy foods and snacks that won’t put you in a catatonic state.  Stay away from the afternoon chocolate chip cookies that give you a surge of energy and then leave you flat as a pancake 30 minutes later.

Keeping It Cool.  Most teams operate comfortably at 68 degrees.  Try keeping the meeting room a few degrees lower.

Making It Interesting.  Many people become hearing-insensitive in the afternoon.  Don’t just talk at your team, but make it interesting and interactive.  Rather than presenting information, facilitate discussion and next steps.

Engaging All the Senses.  If you find yourself in the “receive mode,” keep yourself focused by doodling on a piece of paper, creating shapes from Process Putty™ or otherwise doing everything in your power to stay awake.  As long as you aren’t too distracting, it’s better to have half a brain engaged than no brain engaged at all in the discussion!

Standing Up.  When all else fails, stand up.  Move your feet.  Discreetly stretch  your arms and back.  If necessary, take a “personal break” to go outside and get some fresh air.

Taking a Break.  Especially in the afternoon, prevent the marathon meeting.  Plan regular short breaks every hour to two hours, depending on the circumstances.

Question:  How do you fight off the afternoon blahs?

More and more work is being done in teams.  This is good news if your company is using teams effectively — bringing together the right people with the proper skills, knowledge and resources to achieve defined business results.  Teams are a terrific strategy to achieve results when a collaborative approach is needed.

However, teams are not the panacea for all your organization’s ills.  Just because your company has adopted a team approach, not everything has to be done in teams!  Many tasks and challengs are best handled either by an individual working alone or by a small sub-group from the main team.  Where appropriate, bring the right people together when the issue is:

Complex and Requires Expertise from a Variety of Disciplines.  One person doesn’t have all the information or answers.

Non-Linear.  The work occurs simultaneously and many different tasks, functions and people are linked together.

High Stakes.  The problem or opportunity area affects more than a few individuals and people have a big stake in the issue.

High Commitment.  The business results will require a high degree of involvement and buy-in in order to develop and implement the solution.

Teams are not appropriate when there is:

No Time.  You may not be able to form a team when there is an immediate, full-blown crisis.  But you can let others know what you did after the fact.

Expertise.  One person has the knowledge and resources to accomplish the task.  In addition, that person should have the power and authority to implement the decision with or without others’ involvement, support and commitment.

No Support.  If the organization doesn’t support the team efforts, don’t even bother with the team approach.  For example, if management isn’t open to the team’s suggestions, won’t provide the resources, or can’t accept the team’s recommendations.

No Common Ground.  Team members have no work in common — or if they do, it is a stretch and is clearly not the team’s main line of business.

Just because you put people on a team together doesn’t mean they are going to act like or work like a team.  It may make perfect sense to continue treating team members as separate individuals, rather than artificially trying to weld them into a more cohesive team unit.  The challenge is to divert work to where it is best done.  Not everything has to be tackled as a team issue.

Question:  Do you find that there a projects you can handle better individually?

Why are people so stingy with praise of their fellow teammates?

After all, we know that positive feedback inspires and motivates people.  So what lame excuses have you heard lately?

Too Busy.  You don’t have enough time to take a moment to smile and comment about a job well done.

Didn’t Notice.  You are so self-absorbed that you didn’t even notice your teammates’ hard work.  Ergo, you can’t comment on what you don’t see.

It’s Hard Work.  It takes a tremendous amount of work to invent new and creative ways to commend people on their efforts.  Why put forth the effort?

Ignorance is Bliss.  If you don’t know how to give praise, you look stupid bumbling your way through a few heartfelt thank-you’s.

Afraid To.  Whether you are afraid of being perceived as soft, weak or playing favorites, you would rather say nothing than anything at all.

Why Bother?  You rightfully expect your teammates to do their jobs correctly.  You should not have to provide any positive strokes to people simply doing their job.

Whatever your excuse, don’t be so stupid!

Stop what you are doing, notice the team’s work, and take the time and energy to simply comment on the great work your teammates do.  Don’t worry — as long as your feedback is genuine and sincere, you won’t look stupid.  You’ll look like a team player!

Question:  How have you praised your teammates lately?

I just took my daughter, Marina, to her college orientation at the University of Virginia. We must have walked around the entire campus, taken the trolley and wandered through “the Corner” buying all sorts of UVA paraphenalia. Check out Mincer’s for a wide assortment!

I was schooled on what to expect (and not to expect) as a parent of a college student….and I was most interested in one presentation on “building community within UVA”. The presenter was Dr. Kathryn A. Neeley, Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society. She, among other professors, invites their students to have dinner with them…to get to know them better and to build community.

Question: Do you invite your teammates to break bread with you…simply to get to know them better and build the team?

When it comes to teamwork, most of us think we are pretty good team players.  We participate; we offer opinions; we help when we can; we ask for feedback so we can be a better teammate, etc.

Unfortunately, some people are not even mediocre team players.  They are simply toxic to the team.  You know who I am talking about.  Toxic people suck the life out of other people.  Every time they open their mouths, it’s about what’s wrong with the world, who did what to whom and why others make their world so difficult.  They are simply miserable and want to share their misery with anyone who will listen.

The sad thing is that you have to listen to that garbage!  Before you know it, you are infected with the toxic virus and start spewing the same garbage.

Surely, all of us can have a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, or even a bad year.  We’re not talking about those folks.  They need our help and support through a relatively brief period of time.  On the flip side, chronically toxic people need a quick, swift kick in the can.  (Okay, spare the physical violence, but these people have spent years perfecting the art of polluting every great idea or possibility.)

Toxic people need a significant emotional event to jar them from their toxic behavior.  You may ask, “What kind of significant emotional event?”  For example, the team leader calls them on the behavior — first in private, and if that doesn’t work, the team calls them on the behavior while all team members are present.  Give the toxic person direct, objective, specific feedback between the eyes.  Calmly describe the impact of the toxic behavior on the team’s performance and relationships.  Describe the consequences of the inability or unwillingness to change the behavior.

And, as a last resort, if they can’t get their act together, kick them off the team.  If you have done everything in your power to buff them up, upgrade their team skills and bring them up to an acceptable level of team behavior, then you are doing your team a disservice to keep them on the team.

No one likes to kick someone off the team, but it’s certainly the avenue of last resort that you should not be afraid to explore.

Question:  If you are toxic to your team, how can you change?

Napoleon Hill coined the concept of the mastermind alliance in his classic book, “Think and Grow Rich.”  He believed that a group of like-minded, achievement-oriented individuals could dramatically leverage each other’s success.  It’s all about creating the synergy of like-minded professionals to have a safe place to celebrate success, solve pressing issues, offer support and encouragement, unleash creativity, gain valuable insights and expand and grow their businesses.

Mark Sanborn is an international speaker on leadership and teamwork, and he suggests the following guidelines to pursue a meeting of the minds:

Find the Right Mix.  Find great people with complimentary businesses, functions, positions with similar career levels and shared values.  The diversity of the group is a strength, and everyone should have something of value to bring to the group.  Mark warns that “too much disparity between experience levels, however, can hamper the sharing of ideas.”

Agree on Purpose.  Each member should share his or her own “What’s In It For Me” (WIIFM) for participating in the group.  Be very clear on what you are trying to accomplish;  generate leads, provide support, offer advice, encourage each other, etc.

Establish Ground Rules.  Agree on the administrivia that can drive teams crazy, e.g., meeting time, length, attendance and other fundamental beliefs to support the effective functioning of the team.  Melanie Mills, another national speaker from Indiana, phrased this aspect so well when she said, “Establish guidelines for how you operate with each other, like not putting down other members, a solutions-orientation versus a problem-orientation, sharing time so nobody dominates, confidentiality, and mutual respect.  This is probably the most important step, as it creates the atmosphere for you to operate in.  I would keep them simple but clear.”

Agree on Format.  Detrmine location, time and agenda.  Most Masterminds start with an update from each member.  That time can be used to share good news, ask questions, solve problems, etc.  Then the meetings usually move into a specific topic area (agreed to ahead of time) and each team member brings ideas, best practices, resources, suggestions, article reprints, book recommendations, etc.  The meeting usually concludes with a commitment to each other on what each member will do in between sessions.

Select a Coordinator.  One person needs to coordinate schedules and meeting logistics.  This position can be permanent or rotated between team members.

Use a Facilitor.  Make sure that each meeting has a designated facilitator (a Mastermind member or an external facilitator) to keep the process moving, ensure balanced participation and move actions forward.

Keep Checking.  All Mastermind groups evolve into new formats and mixes of people.  Periodically, check the “pulse” of the team by reinforcing what’s working well and what can be “upgraded.”  Mark assures us that it’s OK to “revisit your purposes, goals and time commitments frequently, so you can address whether adjustments should be made.”

Question:  If you are a member of a Mastermind group, what is your key to success?

Have I told you that I am moving cross country from Alexandria, VA to Scottsdale, AZ? Yep….loaded up the U-Haul truck and auto transport and we’re driving cross country.

Currently in Clarkesville, Arkansas (never have been in AR before!) and spent the ENTIRE day yesterday trying my darndest to stay loyal to Verizon.

You see, I love my fiber optic high speed wireless in Alexandria. Verizon calls it FIOS; I call it blazin! And, I wanted to transfer the service over to Scottsdale. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it wasn’t.

Spent most of the day on the phone trying to get the right person to START my service in Scottsdale. 15 minute wait, then a disconnect. Happened three times. I almost threw my cell phone out the truck window.

I really want to do business with Verizon…but you can’t talk to a live body.

So, in desperation, I called QWest, and was delightfully surprised at the attentive and responsive people (Jeff, Kim and Gail) who answered the FREAKIN phone, handled my request pleasantly and thoroughly.

Although I will miss my FIOS, I will NOT miss Verizon. Sorry guys, I tried. And, for those of you trying to call my old phone number, that number has been disconnected and Verizon says they “can’t promise” to add the forwarding number to the disconnect announcement. So…the message from Verizon is “don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”

Question: What are you doing that makes it hard for your customers to stay loyal to you?