Q: What do the U.S. Navy, Blue Angel pilots, and Radio City Music Hall Rockette dancers have in common?
A: Synchronization
Building successful business teams is not like swim teams, where individual contributors’ points are rolled up into one team score. Rather, business teams results are only achieved through trust, accountability for individual jobs, dependence upon each other to complete tasks, and desire to create a rhythm of winning. Mac Anderson videoed Blue Angel pilots after a practice run and the ensuing discussion was tense, harsh, direct, and reflective of team members who were determined to synchronize the slightest detail, since mistakes could be fatal.
Great teams challenge each other and require conflict. We so often try to avoid conflict, but only through engaged conflict can true greatness emerge. ‘Greatness’ happens with trust, forged with fierce determination and debate to execute clear team goals.
“Worse than no conflict is unresolved conflict.” ~ Alison Levine, Mt. Everest climber
Peter Hawkins, Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School and the Emeritus Chairman of Bath Consultancy Group, has worked in drama therapy and psychotherapy in mental health organizations. He said in the 1970’s people were treated for shell shock (battle fatigue, PTSD). Some units were experiencing people with high levels of breakdown and other units weren’t. It didn’t have to do with differing levels of stress on the units, as suspected. Units that produced high levels of emotional breakdown were also producing high levels of discipline issues, addiction issues, and other forms of distress and disturbance. These units and teams were dysfunctional.
We may have misunderstood Darwin
We are now in a world where the level and speed of change that’s needed can’t happen only through individual change. We think the unit of survival (of the fittest) is the individual, or the team. But it’s not any of those. The unit of survival is any team in dynamic co-creation with its ecological niche. We can’t talk about a high performing team or individual, we can only talk about a team that’s co-creating value with and for all its stakeholders in its ecological niche.
After many years of coaching we find we are asking the wrong question. We start, like many, by asking individuals what they wanted from the coaching, and everyone naturally complains about their colleagues. If we start from individual views, we get really ensnared in historical dynamics. We need to start from the future back and outside in.
Outside in:
- What is it that your customers, investors, or employees need you to step up to?
- In two years, what will you regret not having addressed now?
Models of Coaching
In the mid-1960’s, the Tuckman Model discussed stages of team development – Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. This model is similar to Ken Blanchard’s 4 Developmental Styles. It is also similar to Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of teams – Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Collaboration. These models and others talk more on the individuals in teams, and less the dynamic for what today’s leaders need in coaching, which is how to build high performing teams. If we start with the factors destroying teams, if we can resolve and minimize those factors, we can build positivity into exercises once we are out of the darkness. Like good medical care starts with first stopping the bleeding.
Evolution of team coaching
There is a lot of data suggesting that team coaching will really grow in the next 10 years and that we will see big growth in board coaching and team coaching. There’s no shortage of good individual coaches, facilitators, and trainers. But we are going to need people who can connect the individual level, team level, organizational level, and wider system level. In a complex ambiguous world, we need more of those people.
In Hawkins latest book, he talks about how we help people develop systemic being. “Teams are living systems, not manufactured products…We need not a mechanistic science of teams, but an ecology…”
Even more important than for individual coaches, systemic team leaders and teams need diagnoses and coaching, particularly as environments shift.
We’re one human family; we’ll only survive by an ethic of collaboration and teamwork.
Jim
Hurrah! After all I got a webpage from where I can really take useful facts concerning my study and knowledge.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday. It’s always exciting to read articles from other writers and use something from their sites.
I constantly emailed this webpage post page to all my associates, for the reason that if like to read it after that my friends will too.
Hi there, I read your new stuff regularly. Your story-telling style is awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!
We are a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your site offered us with useful info to paintings on. You’ve done an impressive activity and our entire group can be thankful to you.
Propecia Comprar Sin Receta buy cialis Greece Cheapest Generic Viagra 100mg
You can definitely see your skills in the paintings you write. The arena hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. Always follow your heart.
Comprare Viagra Sicuro On Line Propecia Rae Dosage Of Amoxicillin For Lyme finasteride 1 mg cheap buy Cephalexin Dosage Dental
Celecoxib Online cialis 10 vidal Cialis Durata Scadenza Achat Clomid En France
With havin so much written content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright violation? My site has a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you know any ways to help prevent content from being stolen? I’d certainly appreciate it.
Propecia Finasteride Online Cialis Generico Originale Online Doctor Prescription Adderall cialis tablets for sale Where To Buy Celexa Online 100 Mg Brand Viagra And Cialis Cephalexin Or Zythromax No Script Trimix Ed Meds
Keep working ,fantastic job!
Antiseptic Viagra No Script No Hassle Best Place To Buy Finasteride where to buy cialis online safely Cialis Generico 40 Mg
I have figured out some new items from your web-site about computers. Another thing I have always presumed is that laptop computers have become a specific thing that each family must have for some reasons. They provide convenient ways in which to organize households, pay bills, search for information, study, hear music and in some cases watch television shows. An innovative technique to complete these tasks is with a notebook. These desktops are mobile ones, small, highly effective and lightweight.
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely return.
Amoxicillin Normal Dose viagra Combivent Inhalers Without An Rx Amoxicillin Dosage For A Kitten Priligy En Estados Unidos
Hi there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a fair price? Cheers, I appreciate it!
My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on various websites for about a year and am worried about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be really appreciated!
I have noticed that of all types of insurance, health insurance is the most debatable because of the issue between the insurance company’s necessity to remain afloat and the user’s need to have insurance policy. Insurance companies’ profits on overall health plans are certainly low, thus some businesses struggle to generate income. Thanks for the concepts you reveal through this web site.
whoah this blog is excellent i love reading your articles. Keep up the good work! You know, many people are hunting around for this info, you can aid them greatly.
This actually answered my problem, thanks!