Team Building

Individuals or Team? Anyone who knows me knows how I am going to respond but as I began to research this for my blog today I read volumes of papers that disputed my strong beliefs.  There are a number of people out there who will pick an individual over a team in a heartbeat.  I was so surprised and then I started thinking about it a bit more.  I came to the conclusion that star individuals are key assets but I still believe in the team concept.

 

·                  Why do organizations pay CEOs remarkable salaries and incentives?

·                  Star Athletes make more in one month than average people make in a lifetime.

·                  How much do some of the “A” list actors/actresses make for a 30 minute sitcom? (really 21 minutes sans commercials)

·                  World famous authors or politicians earn extraordinary honorariums for programs, conventions and appearance fees.

Does money buy quality?  In most cases, the answer is clearly Yes!  If you needed to have brain surgery...what surgeon would you rather have?  A fellow who recently completed his residency and is now in advanced fellowship with others studying under his mentor or the mentor himself.  Most people would opt for the well-respected and well-known surgeon compared to the fellow who would work with a team of interns and fellows.  Can you see where I ran into problems as I began researching individual or team? 

Think about the core of most individuals who have superior talents.  They are self confident and rarely need or want the help of others.  These people when grouped together generally have a diminished effect when put in a team environment.  Their value and contribution decreases disproportionately each time an additional person is invited or recruited to the project.  This can be seen in well accepted "80-20" rule where 80% of results come from 20% of the group.  You can also observe the same phenomenon  in the “law of diminishing returns” where results grow to a certain level at increasing increments until a certain point is reached and then the return despite extra effort begins to subside.  Another example for my "accountant" friends may be fixed and various costs and how at a certain level, we can minimize the variable costs to maximize our profits.  

I stand true to my belief in teams.  Despite my picture at the beginning of this blog...Why do “dream teams” implode?

There is no “I” in team and a group that becomes a team is stronger than all its individual parts.  The biggest issue regarding the tremendous quality of “I”s and the ability for one to gel those components into a TEAM is that building a strong lineup is not as easy as it sounds.  Some of the components of team building are as follows:

·        Leadership ~ the skills and qualities that we have talked about on several of my blogs are needed to create and maintain a positive energy and work environment to motivate and instill a commitment for following the core values of the organization.  Besides the many traits that make up a good leader (March 12, 2012   http//amgtconsulting.blogspot.com/qualities of leadership  ) or a number of other posts that I have entered including 3/8/2012 “Leaders-born or made” and 3/19/2012 “Art of Leadership”

·        There is a true need for clear communication to and amongst the team members. Communications needs strong leadership to facilitate amongst the various departments. The team members need to be able to express their feelings and share ideas.  They also need to be able to “hear” the many ideas and strategies that the group expresses. Collaboration and partnership.

      Humility and Walking the Talk needs to be at the core of building the group so that team members approach things in a positive, can-do manner.  Getting the wheels in motion to hurtle towards the “tipping point “where  “success begins to spread like wild fire”.  The group will expect the leader to “walk in their shoes” and be an example for support and guidance. 

It is incredibly challenging to get everyone to pull together and function as “one” instead of going in separate directions.  However, the reward is worth the effort!  Building teams is for the long-term success of an organization compared to short term success gained by extraordinary individual talent.

One of the most brilliant basketball players ever to play the game said:

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. "

~ Michael Jordan

There are a few ideas that I would like to share before closing this blog.  Team-building activities can run the gamut from retreats to holiday parties or picnics.  The retreat is good, but it only last a couple days.  Picnics and social gatherings last a couple of hours.  Let’s work on developing teamwork on a constant basis.  We will start out small with ideas that that can be repeated often.  Opening meetings with “ice-breakers” is a quick way to get to know everyone in a fun, non-threatening manner.  T-shirts, coffe mugs, hats etc...can help build a sense of unity.

I would also pose the following so that we can not only build stronger teams for our organization but also contribute to others:

Charitable Causes:  There are so many organizations that are non-profit who could benefit from outside help.  Pick one of the following or add or own.  Both your organization and your charitable organization will be the beneficiary!

·                  Multiple Sclerosis Society

·                  Hospice

·                  Habitat for Humanity

·                  Food Kitchens

·                  American Cancer Society

·                  Adopt a Highway program

Putting your team building expertise together in helping your team feel good about working together for  an outside cause.  Sponsoring a team for a 5K can help build harmony and also physical fitness.  If tied to a charitable institution, we also help others.  The extended programs such as the Komen 3 day, 60 mile walk or duration runs such as a Run for Leukemia or similar marathons, could extend team building exposure into months of training and good fellowship. 

Pay your good fortune forward and help out at school programs where you can mentor children and bring the real business world into their classrooms.  Also, part of those large profits that you reap due to your better functioning team can be “given back” to educational programs or other charities.