I was reading a Forbes article this morning about teams. Luis Romero was reflecting on the five stages of teams which are highlighted in The Wisdom of Teams (by Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith). The fifth or highest level is the “Extraordinary Team” which achieves “extraordinary results at increase frequency”. Romero comments that the journey to this level is “…an arduous one that only a few get to complete successfully.” Which got me thinking – if we are longing for the ability to create extraordinary results (and I think many of us are), why is the path to extraordinary teamwork so arduous as Romero describes? Does it have to be?
I’m guessing why the path is arduous is actually pretty clear to most of us. Human beings at an individual level are messy – we all have our own unique things we care deeply about AND worry about. And the ways we care and worry are just as unique. And we kinda think the things we care and worry about are just a little more important. And we kinda think that our way of expressing our cares and worries is just a little better. And while we all want to be on a team, we also kinda want to be the smartest one on the team. [Come on, you know at least parts of that are true…] Throw all of that into a board room or onto a production floor and you’ve got…well, often what you’ve got is a bigger, more complicated mess.
But does it have to be? Can a bunch of messy human beings come together and create extraordinary results without the process being arduous (or tiring, grueling, draining, taxing, soul sucking…)?
Over the past 6 years, I’ve had the great opportunity to be a part of a leadership development program, that brings together diverse executives from global firms. I have seen time and time again, that these groups of strangers, come together quickly and (mostly) joyfully. AND they produce extraordinary results in their individual journeys to further their own leadership skill, improve their credibility and influence to create greater impact in their lives. What allows that? Why are these groups of strangers able to do that, starting the first week of their time together – often better than teams of people who have worked together for years?
Here’s what I’ve witnessed over and over. They are deeply committed to the same thing: their own AND each other’s success. The AND is important. This isn’t about altruism and only taking care of each other. They value their own investment of time and money in this experience and aren’t willing to comprise that. And they aren’t willing to let someone else compromise either. In other words, they have a purpose they all are committed to and is meaningful to all of them – and they’re willing to work toward it. Can you say that about those teams you’ve been on that were soul sucking? I bet not – I bet in many of those someone (or everyone) felt like they were losing…or at least having to comprise. And that feeling of push/pull winning/losing tends to permeate the team – and often to pull it apart.
Now this isn’t about rainbows and unicorns and kumbaya. The conversations to understand each other’s cares and worries are still messy. Just like they are in the board room or on the production floor. But instead of trying to get away from the messy, they work through it, to really understand what’s at the core of the matter. Most of us say, we’re too busy for all that…well maybe now we have the answer to why the process of getting to extraordinary teams and results is so hard – we’re too busy to make it easier. Except, of course, that making it easier just might mean we have more time……you see the ridiculousness we all perpetuate, don’t you?
If you’re stuck in that cycle or if you’ve broken it, I’d love to hear what you’ve noticed about what makes the path to extraordinary teams soul sucking…or joyful…
Here’s to more extraordinary results (and more joy)…
