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?

CNN’s Cafferty Report yesterday posed the intriguing question: “Can Hillary Clinton muscle her way into the V.P. slot?”

My ears perked up when Jack Cafferty mentioned that “Jenny from Rome, Georgia says that He [Obama] seems to have surrounded himself with an excellent team and Hillary is not a team player.”

I wonder, what would give the impression to the American public (Jenny specifically) that Clinton is not a team player?

Question: What signals are we sending to the general population that we are (or are not) a team player?

I was asked to moderate a panel discussion after a very important presentation to company stakeholders. During the final dry run, I observed the speech coach directing the Vice Presidents. Notice, I use the term “directing” rather than “coaching”.

Her directions included phrases such as “Ok. Now do this.” “What we’re going to do is…” When someone would offer an idea, she would say “Yes (or No),” and then express her opinion.

She was so intent on the task at hand, she didn’t even acknowledge the other diverse expertise in the room (the other company representatives, their brand consultant, or even me!).

Technically, this speech consultant is very good. I agree with many of her directions and even admire her skill. But her style leaves me cold.

I would rather see her be more collaborative….and well, be a coach rather than a director!

Question: When someone is observing you in action, would they see you as a director or collaborative coach?

I am in Las Vegas working with Choice Hotels International and had the pleasure to hear Deepak Chopra speak about “Spiritual Leadership”.

Aside from his Liberace/Elton John red rhinestone studded reading glasses (not seen in this picture), Chopra talked about happy people. He said, “Happy people are more successful, have better relationships, enjoy better health and live longer.

It is not the other way around.” You don’t become happy once you acquire success.

Chopra continued, “And people are as happy as they make up their mind to be. The best way to be happy is to make someone else happy.”

Question. Do you make other people happy?

I grew up watching Morley Shafer on 60 Minutes and consider myself to be a “trailing boomer”. Last night’s segment “The Millenials are Coming” reported on the Millenials – those in their late teens to early twenties – in the workplace. Overall, a fairly balanced report and well worth watching. The last video clip emphasized the importance of “praise” – even for coming to work and doing your job. After all, this is the “Fred Rogers generation” where everyone is special and everyone gets recognized for their participation.

Question: Do you let people (not just the Millenials) know how special they are? Do you recognize their participation? Better get in the habit!

“It’s all about the Team” says Robert MacGregor, ABC 7’s High School Athlete of the Week. A stellar golfer, Robert happens to play for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology– the same school my daughter, Marina, goes to.
As the captain of the TJHSST Golf team, Robert says, “It’s all about the team.”

Curious. As a fellow golfer, I tend to believe that golf is a rather individual sport. Sure, you can play with others, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Robert’s coach, George Malenich elaborates further: “He takes care of the underclassman; he drives them back and forth to practice. Anybody who needs anything from him – he’s always there.” Shuttling underclassmen isn’t about golf, either. What defines Robert’s teamwork is not what he does ON the golf course, but what does in support of others, so they can play golf as well.

Question: What do you do to support your team mates?

My 16 year old daughter, Marina, typically listens to the radio as she gets
ready for school. On September 13th, I overheard the DJ’s catty account of
Britney Spears’ pathetic performance at the MTV Awards. As I was listening, I thought, “What a waste of talent.”

CNN called her a “train wreck“;I just feel pity. Yes, Britney Spears has been hugely successful in the past. Although she has been through massive upheaval in her personal and professional life, she has not built a solid team around her to support and nurture her continuing success. She wants to strike out on her own, and be “independent”. Unfortunately, to be a mega-star (or even a little star!), you have to have a solid team working with you.

Check out the litany of poor team skills and bad decisions around her key
advisers:
1) Three years ago, she fired her longtime [and hugely successful] manager.
2) She repeatedly expressed a desire to run [or ruin?] her career.
3) When MTV asked her to perform at their annual awards show, her principal
advisers at Jive [her record label] were rather cool to the idea, but her
entertainment lawyer, Gary Stiffelman pressed her to sign on.
4) Britney hired a new manager, Jeff Kwatinetz, about a month ago.
5) Then, she fired Stiffelman.
6) An hour before showtime, Britney insisted on a series of changes:

• She clashed with Ken Paves, the high-end hairstylist chosen to do her hair extensions.

• She decided not to wear the agreed-upon, custom-fitted corset designed especially for the MTV Show, opting for a skimpy, black bikini-style costume. (Bad, bad idea, post-partum Britney!)

The survivors of Britney’s management team are now engaged in massive damage control. According to the NY Times, they are “eager to release a music video to counter the impressions left by the MTV debacle. But that may prove tricky, too: Ms. Spears oversaw her production of a gritty, stripper-themed clip for “Gimme More” that may jolt fans who are more accustomed to the slick, tightly choreographed videos that made her an MTV staple. The video is being tweaked with input from her advisers.”

Sigh. It’s going to take more than a slick video to rescue Britney’s
career. She needs to build a solid team around her - and that requires
careful selection of the right people, trust among all of her team members,
and the ability to make smart decisions collaboratively.

Given Britney’s current independent streak, I don’t give her much chance.

Question: What are you doing to sabotage your team’s work?

As an “expert” on teamwork in the workplace, I try to practice what I preach. I don’t want to be known as the cobbler who has no shoes. So, I intentionally (and…maybe it’s an ironic twist of fate) put myself in situations where I must work and play well with others.

This week, I am working with a fellow consultant, my blogmaster and a client. (Whatever would they say if they knew I was talking about them in my blog?). It occurred to me how humbling this fragile notion of “teamwork” truly is.

You see, teams are great for conceptualizing, designing, coordinating, planning, evaluating…but someone has to put the pen to paper, assemble the product, deliver the service. That is done by individuals, usually in a draft form or prototype first, and then the team graciously bleeds red ink all over it.

It’s tough to be the drafter, the owner of the prototype and watch the team make small or significant upgrades. It’s truly humbling to understand that your baby is ugly, and that although you tried your best, the team is going to improve upon your initial draft or “strawman”.

This week, I had to remind myself that someone has to make a first stab at the team’s deliverable. Let’s be gracious in giving and receiving the feedback to take the draft to the next level.

Question: How do you react when the team gives you feedback on your draft?