Teamwork: What it Really Means

and How it Really Works

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” - Chinese proverb

Think of a challenging team you were on…

Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson

• 1989: TeamWork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong

• 2001: When Teams Work Best - 6,000 Team Members and Leaders Tell What it Takes to Succeed

Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson (continued)

• Began working together in 1981• LaFasto - Senior Vice President of

Organizational Effectiveness for Cardinal Health, Inc.

• Larson - Professor of Human Communication, University of Denver

First Sample

• Boeing 747 design team• United States space command planning team• Mountain climbing teams• Space shuttle Challenger • Accident (Pres. Commission)• Cardiac surgery teams• National championship athletic teams

TeamWork: What Must Go Right/ What Can Go Wrong

• Clear, elevating goal• Results-driven structure• Competent team members• Unified commitment• Collaborative climate• Standards of excellence• External support and recognition• Principled leadership

When Teams Work Best• 600 teams/6,000 team members• Airline, auto, banking/finance, chemical,

computer, distribution, education, food, healthcare, insurance, industrial equipment, law enforcement, legal, retail, sports, telecommunications, utilities

Five Dynamics of Teamwork and Collaboration

• Team member• Team relationships• Team problem solving• Team leadership• Organizational environment

1. Team Member - Working Knowledge

• Experience• Problem-solving ability

Team Member - Teamwork Factors

• Openness• Openness Issues:– Communication climate– Results– Policies and bureaucracy– Planning– Role clarity– Performance issues– Passive Conspiracy

Team Member - Teamwork Factors (continued)

• Supportiveness• Action orientation• Personal style

Team Member – Putting It To Work

• Collaborative Team Member Rating Sheet

“ Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.”- Leo Tolstoy

2. Team Relationships

• Best and worst relationship exercise• Research/best relationships:• Constructive for both people• Productive• Mutual understanding• Self-corrective

Team Relationships (continued)

• Research/most important - Openness and supportiveness

• Research/most challenging - Dealing with contention

Team Relationships - Connect Model

• Commit to the relationship• Optimize safety• Narrow the discussion to one issue• Neutralize defensiveness• Explain and echo each perspective• Change one behavior each• Track it

Team Relationships – Putting It To Work

• Plan conversation with team member where relationship could be better.

“A long dispute means that both parties are wrong.”

-Voltaire

3. Problem Solving• Focus• Climate• Communication

“Search all the parks, in all our cities. You’ll find no statues of committees.”-David Ogilvy

Team Problem Solving

• Mental, physical and spiritual energy• Energy drain• Goal

Team Problem Solving - The Single Question Format

• Identify the issue• Create a collaborative setting - agree on

principles for discussion; surface any assumptions and biases.

• Identify and analyze the issues• Identify possible solutions• Resolve the single question

Team Problem Solving –Putting It To Work

• Describe your team’s goal - what tangible, concrete outcome trying to achieve?

• Describe the energies (mental, physical, spiritual) that members of the team have focused, or should be focusing, on the goal.

• Is the team’s energy drained away from the goal? If so, where is it going? If so, is this impacting team’s success?

• What could help the team regain focus on goal? What is your role in this?

4. Team Leader

• Focuses on the Goal– Defines goal in a clear and elevating way

– Does not play politics

– Keeps the goal alive

– Helps individuals align their role and responsibilities with team goal

– Reinforces goal in fresh and exciting ways

– If goal adjustment is needed, makes sure team knows why

Team Leader (continued)

• Ensures a collaborative climate– Makes communication safe– Demands a collaborative approach– Rewards collaborative behavior– Guides the team problem-solving efforts– Manages ego and personal control needs

Team Leader (continued)

• Builds confidence– Gets results– Makes team members smart about key issues and

facts– Exhibits trust by assigning responsibility– Is fair and impartial– Accentuates the positive– Says “thank you”

Team Leader (continued)

• Demonstrate sufficient technical know-how– Know your stuff– Get help

Team Leader (continued)

• Sets priorities– What must happen and what must not– Changing priorities

Team Leader (continued)• Manages performance– Requires results: make performance expectations

clear– Review results: give constructive feedback and

resolve performance issues– Reward results: recognize superior performance

Team Leader – Putting It To Work• Collaborative team leader questionnaire

“My responsibility is to get my 25 guys playing for the name on the front of their shirt and not the one on the back.”-Tommy Lasorda

5. Organizational Environment

• Management practices– Clear direction and priorities– Balances resources and demands– Establishes clear operating principles

Organizational Environment (continued)

• Structure and processes– Effective processes - foster effective decision

making, keep people connected– Effective communication processes - align

information, understanding, and effort.

Organizatonal Environment (continued)

• Systems– Necessity of reliable information– Relevant rewards drive required results– Standards lead to consistency and fairness

Organizational Environment -Putting It To Work

• Three dimensions of organizational environment

“I never worry about action, but only about inaction.”-Winston Churchill