Many a time we hear ourselves and others say, “We need to work as a team”.

What does this mean in practical terms? Beyond understanding that it is probably the best way a collective with common goals can achieve, what are the experiences?

Whereas a group of people may be in the same place, purportedly as a team, they may have sharply contrasted approaches to contribution to the team.

For example, there are team members who would focus on providing input to the team and will care less about how it is received, whether there is feedback and so on. They “switch off” to anything beyond their contribution and would care less about engagement and integration of their contribution into the team effort. It is submitted that such a team member does not bring value as they are the epitome of the silo worker disguised as a teammate.

There are also those teammates that lack the responsibility associated with a team. The responsibility of a team applies in both good and bad times. The bad times are the testers. This is when the team has to synchronize their efforts to resolve a challenge that has arisen and most of the time, there is a demand on the team that transcends the individual team members area of expertise. Motivation, encouragement, patience, candor, empathy and a sense of urgency among others will have to be common ethos in the team if it desires to overcome complex challenges.

It is important to internalize the metrics of a high performing team. One of the things I have found useful is to try and connect every team member’s role to the common goal. By way of illustration, consider working for the holding company in a group of companies. One of the major interests of the holding company is a return on its investment by way of a regular dividend payment. To get to that point, a meeting of the shareholders must be held to make the declaration of dividend. The simple act of ensuring that a proxy attends the meeting may be seen as a purely logistical thing until it is not done and there is no representation from the company. Then heads will roll, isn’t it? So if the team member responsible for that activity does not understand the importance of the role he/she plays in the process that leads to receipt of dividend, they may not appreciate the ramifications of not doing so or indeed that they would have contributed to the team effort to bring in the much needed dividend revenue by their diligent execution of their role.

Acting on a trajectory premised on results and doing it concertedly is the best way of ensuring performance.

“Let’s work together” is not only a song but one that should actually be sung!

Let’s share!