The Rapid Response Institute

Category: Team

  • Its the Heart

    Its the Heart

    “A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.”

    — Paul William “Bear” Bryant, legendary college football coach

    In the early 1990s my former wife and I, both avid sailors decorated our boat for the local Christmas Boat Lane Parade.  While we had some help, most of the work was performed by the two of us.  That 27 foot sailboat, one of the smallest in the fleet that year won the overall Best In Fleet Grand Prize.  During the presentation, we were asked how many worked decorating the boat which had over 10,000 Christmas tree lights mounted on several three dimensional frames.  At the awards ceremony, when we told them that it was a very small team–this explanation was met with disbelief.

    During World War II, the mathematician, Alan Turing led a small tightly knit team breaking the German Enigma code, saving upwards to several million people.  A dramatization of his team’s challenges were captured in the 2014 movie, The Imitation Game.

    These two very different examples have one thing in common–Coach Bryant’s admonition.  Entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, Elon Musk and others have long argued that one should hire the best people and turn them loose.  Looks like sound advise.  This may be the reason start up firms consistently beat established larger organizations with greater resources.

    Inclusion

    Teams often appear to be cliques.  Much like the kids game where teams are divided up based on favoritism as ‘buddies’ are selected.  Any non-buddy can be effectively excluded since he or she may not be part of the in-crowd.

    In the movie, Turning was initially shunned by both team members as well as his superior.  He did not fit in.  In a large team he may have drifted into the background where his perspectives might not even be heard.  However, as a key ‘different’ member of a small team, his views could not be easily dismissed although they were disagreed with and even hated.  Yet they became part of the discussion and eventually the entire team supported him and ‘now their’ solution saved millions.

    During this period, the Tuskegee Airmen faced even greater challenges.  While some individuals and units may have been forced to accept them, their highly visible contributions could not be denied by those directly benefiting from their inclusion into the air bombardment task force.  Likely, this would not be as conspicuous if they were part of a larger organization.

    Bottom Line

    Not only are small high performance teams usually more successful, they offer all team members a better opportunity to be included in the activity.  This is even more true virtually when it is often difficult to prevent one party from attempting to dominate meetings.  Talking over people and/or raising one’s voice is a tried and true way to bully in a meeting and it is almost impossible to control virtually with a large group.

    Similar to atomic energy, it is not the amalgamation of large quantities of dynamite that makes the biggest bang.  It is the release of the smallest that is the Big Bang!  Harness the power of your team atom.

    What is Your Organization’s Small Team Strategy?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game

    We presented, Should Cross Cultural Serious Games Be Included in Your Diversity Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned at the Online Conference, New Diversity Summit 2020 the week of September 14, 2020.  Check Out this timely event and contact the organizer for access to the presentations!!

    You can contact this author as well.

  • Teaming Safely

    Teaming Safely

    “For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind”

     

    Second only to the basic need for food, water and what is required to sustain physical life, safety and security are the next step in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  In other words one cannot love or feel belonging or achieve a level of esteem without having the warmth of safety much less attain self-actualization.

    More recently, team safety has come to be defined as Inclusive.

    There are three components of team safety:

    • Sociological — “developing and maintaining friendly social bonds is a fundamental organizing principle of human behavior”
    • Psychological — “defined as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking”
    • Physiological — “relating to the way in which a living organism or bodily part functions”

    If members do not feel ‘safe’ then the team is not capable of high performance.  Moreover, the synergistic value that can be derived from team diversity can not be captured.

    Attaining Safety

    While the need to be safe is coded in our DNA so to speak, we are not inherently safe.  Individuals as well as teams must be proactive to reach situational safety.

    We are Mindful when we are in touch with ourselves and the environment through nurturing feelings.  Interesting, being mindful is a major requirement of High Reliability Organization/Team.  High reliability is a necessary ingredient for an organization’s Safety Culture and by extension its Teams (including third party ecosystem members).

    Safety is a learned behavior.  Therefore, effective training and ongoing reinforcement are necessary. Moreover, realistic scenarios are mandatory making the learning process relevant.

    Take the following maturity assessment and implement your team training program!

    What is your Team’s Culture of Safety Maturity?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game

    We presented, Should Cross Cultural Serious Games Be Included in Your Diversity Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned at the Online Conference, New Diversity Summit 2020 the week of September 14, 2020.  Check Out this timely event and contact the organizer for access to the presentations!!

    You can contact this author as well.

     

  • Is Your Remote Team Aligned?

    Is Your Remote Team Aligned?

    Recently, my team and I were tasked with a delicate decision making process.  Due to its nature and signatory level, team members were only authorized to explore and present options.  The final decision was mine alone.  Our project governance model clearly defined this decision making process.

    One day I received a call from remote members explaining they were going to a vendor site to assess our options–I concurred.  Several hours later they let me know that they had made a decision and signed a contract.  When challenged about their actions they informed me that the vendor had demanded that they ‘act fast.’

    Twice in my career I was the C level executive responsible for global operations.  In one case, one of my direct reports was in a different office along with my boss, the CEO.  I received multiple calls from the CEO over a period that ‘so and so’ had stopped by to talk and decisions were made about my operations.  “Well you were not here was the excuse and it seemed like a good idea to me.”  Would it surprise anyone that ‘so and so’ was relieved shortly thereafter?

    In another, the software development operation was in a different part of town.  Development plans were agreed to and then in some cases materially changed with without authority or even informing management.  Needless to say, projects were late or not completed.  After a few weeks of this, the development lead was terminated.

    Remote Management Governance

    Based on the above paragraphs, some may argue that I am not a very good manager.  Perhaps, they are right; however, the point is remote management can be very difficult.  Empowered individuals and teams must have boundaries.

    Yes, hire smart people and get out of the way.  However, there are limits as even Steve Jobs, the micromanager would agree.

    Evidence suggests that working remotely has its challenges and not everyone is well suited for it.  Some individuals will need additional support.

    There is a great deal of information available about remote management.  Some is sound, but this Though Leader on the subject disagrees with much the advice.  It seems for many, this is their ‘first rodeo’ while remote management goes back to antiquity.  While not the first, the Roman Empire functioned well from a bureaucratic or management perspective.

    Inclusive Teams

    Currently, much of the discussion focuses on the Inclusion of team members.  We are recognizing that Diversity is not enough if not every one participates.

    Previously, we had put forth the construct that cross cultural teams have many of the same characteristics of diverse groups.  We can extend this model and success that Inclusive Teams include those individual who are not as well suite for remote teams as others.

    Managing diverse remote teams and assuring that all team members are valued contributors requires a level of managerial engagement that is constant, consistent and appropriately empowering.  ALL members must be encouraged to participate and their input must be acknowledged by the others.  Only then can Steve Jobs and Elon Musk like decisions be taken and not by those who tend to dominate groups unilaterally.

    D&I in a Post-Pandemic World

    Typically, D&I has been defined as a function of ethnicity and/or gender.  Last year we put forth the construct that Cross-Cultural and D&I are similar models of human behavior and best practices from both could add value to the other.

    Diversity must now include those are not well suited for new business models; however, flawed they may be–jury is still out regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of full time remote teams.  Inclusion means they must be actively involved.  Leaders at all levels must assure this model is successful.

    How Do You Assure the Reluctant Remote Team Members are Included?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game

    We presented, Should Cross Cultural Serious Games Be Included in Your Diversity Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned at the Online Conference, New Diversity Summit 2020 the week of September 14, 2020.  Check Out this timely event and contact the organizer for access to the presentations!!

    You can contact this author as well.