Flying in Formation — Reaching New Heights in Team Effectiveness
Robin Thompson, TRS/MS
Scientists have discovered that geese benefit tremendously from a team approach by flying in a “V” formation. Their clearly defined plans, rotation of the lead responsibilities and support for every member allow them to successfully travel thousands of miles. A similar approach works in business too. These teamwork concepts can be used to elevate companies to higher productivity, profitability and morale.
Geese fly in a “V” formation because it significantly increases their flying range than if each bird flew independently. There is an uplift created by the flapping wings of the bird in front which makes it easier for the trailing bird. Similarly, when people share a common vision, they travel faster and more efficiently to achieve the objective.
If a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go-it-alone and quickly rejoins the team to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. There is strength and power in traveling the same direction with others to whom we are committed.
The geese teach a leadership lesson too. When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and allows another goose to fly point. Advanced teams today are well served when the team leader is selected based upon matching their skills with the demands of the project. The geese continually honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. In business, team mates must also acknowledge others and recognize them for their efforts and contributions.
When a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot and falls out, two geese follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly or dies. Then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group. Likewise, support for team members is the hallmark of high performance teams today. The knowledge that others care inspires dedication to both the team and the work to be done.
This metaphor of teamwork displayed by geese holds wisdom for businesses today and in the future. The structure continues to evolve from the Previous Principles to Today’s Targets for Teams. Successful teams will unify people’s unique and diverse strengths toward a grander vision, cede team leadership to those with the specific expertise and create a network of support and recognition. This will generate the lift required to reach new heights in team effectiveness.
Guiding Vision
Effective teams have always required a mission. Today’s teams must operate on less definitive information about the end goal but still make constant progress toward it. That is why the guiding vision must be articulated clearly, constantly and done without destroying the creativity of the team members. Today’s targets build upon previous principles to achieve these results.
Previous Principles Blind obedience to corporate goals
Impassive attitudes toward project
Direction is mandated
Paycheck
Time spent on the job
Today’s Targets for Teams
Guiding vision fostering entrepreneurial goals
Tap individual strengths, build excitement and commitment
A clear strategy that guides individuals' paths
Paycheck, passion and meaning
Results
To survive in the future, Tom Peters has said, “You must act as if you were running your own business. Think of yourself as Maggie, Inc.” The leader sets the vision without preconceived ideas of how that vision will be attained. They will surround themselves with “artists” who will fashion their own piece of the performance.
Any team is significantly more effective when the members can create something they are excited about. When a group of passionate, driven individuals come together with a well-defined goal they will be able to create better solutions faster. That passion will run deeper if the individual has “bought in” to it. Incorporating team mates' ideas to create the goal will help them to want to achieve it.
I recently facilitated a group of software engineers in an exercise designed for understanding different communication styles. They were asked to build the tallest tower possible that would remain standing for two minutes. Their only supplies were marshmallows, toothpicks, masking tape, paper clips and balloons. The apparent goal was clear—the tallest tower—but each team’s path was not. Some teams did not plan before executing and some teams over-planned thus not allowing enough time to build. One group used a clever strategy and created a plan that would meet all of the given criteria.
The two-minute stop watch started and towers came tumbling down one by one, much to the delight of the competing teams. One team quietly stood on the side until the two minutes almost expired. They called attention to their tower which had had placed on the table. It was now the tallest tower.
A lively discussion began about creativity versus blatant disregard for the rules. The rules stated, "it must be built on the floor" but did not state that it had to "remain on the floor." This type of imaginative thinking is what we must cultivate for today's teams. We need creativity and problem solving by individuals willing to venture on their own paths.
Temporary and project workers must also be clear on the objectives expected by the company. As employee acquisition and retention becomes even more demanding, the actual results attained will be more important than time spent on the job. Bruce Tulgan says in his book, “Winning the Talent Wars” employees will begin to be paid on a performance based system. Thus each person will be paid when their project is complete instead of hiring an employee who will receive a salary plus benefits.
The benefits of this arrangement are two-fold. Companies get a person who is committed to their project and know that their compensation is very much performance based. In addition, there is less struggle finding good employees with the expertise needed because the best people are available in the “free market” at the right price. There are web based companies who are already using this concept with great success.
These online talent-auction web sites include Monster.com, elance.com, brainbid.com and others. Employers create project profiles with key information like project guidelines, skills needed, anticipated time frame, location, etc. Independent contractors complete a profile about their skills. When the auction begins, the potential employer and independent contractors consider each other’s bids. Independent contractors can be well paid for their expertise while doing jobs that are meaningful to them and companies can get the best talent available. The importance of a guiding vision becomes even more vital to ensure that these independent contractors "fly in formation."
Team LeadershipPrevious Principles Designated team leader
Everyone stays within their role
“Us verses them” mentality
Egos reign
Leaders selected by intelligence
Today’s Targets for Teams
Leaders rotate according to expertise
Members do what it takes
Understand how each person is integral to the project’s success
Cooperative – “We’re in this together”
Leaders need intelligence plus have ability to thrive amidst uncertainty, a sense of humor, team orientation, and a genuine concern for employees.
Flexibility will be a key attribute of the leaders of tomorrow. Future work assignments will allow many employees with specific expertise to have the opportunity to practice their skills as team leader. All team members will understand the goals of the project and contribute where needed. While each person will be brought on to the team to focus on what they do best, all will act and be accountable for the overall success of the team.
In a large industrial facility where I consulted, the technical staff and the senior management team were having communication challenges. It seemed that neither group could understand the other’s way of thinking. After an intense and provocative discussion, they proposed changes they each could make. Both groups answered the question, “What are we willing to change (as a group) to improve communication?” and “What would the other group want us to change if they were answering this question for us?” Insightful conversations revealed what was really important to each team. The result was a common understanding that they are "in this together" and share the same goals. They realized that for them to be more effective, they needed to build upon the strengths that each group possessed since they now knew more about what mattered to each other.
Situations where a feeling of "us verses them" exists waste the time of the leaders and the team members. The most productive teams work together for the common good of the project as everyone demonstrates that they are willing to “get down into the trenches.” It is the highly valued collaborative skills of team members which will be a prerequisite for selection to these new teams.
The ego centered person has no place on tomorrow’s teams. Being cooperative and humble doesn’t mean that opinions cannot be expressed or unusual ideas debated. However there is not enough time to allow bruised egos and hurt feelings to slow the progress of the team. One technology company employee said that there was nothing worse than having everyone agree with his idea. He wanted lively discussion and “what if” scenarios played out by committed team members. Anticipating potential problems at the outset is much better than finding out about them after the product has been developed.
Obviously, the hierarchical organization of the past with managerial red tape cannot keep pace in today’s environment. As organizations continue to flatten and give people more autonomy, they begin to look more like a spider web that is flat and intricately woven. This network links partners, employees, external contractors, suppliers, customers and even competitors in various collaborations. The players are even more interdependent. From a distance it may be difficult to see who is the CEO, team member or customer.
Network PowerPrevious Principles
Long term employees
Older employees retire
“Traitors” leave the company
Turf guarding
Team mates in the same office
Today’s Targets for Teams
Core of careerists and free agents
Bring back some retirees, preserve corporate memory
“Alumni” welcomed back
Collaboration
Virtual team mates
The days of long term employment are long since past. What was once considered a virtue, loyalty to one company can now seem like servitude and unquestioning conformity. Today’s knowledge workers are more loyal to their profession, their industry and technology than they are to a particular company. People value financial security more than job security.
The result is a core of “careerists” and “free agents.” Careerists are the visionaries that remain with the company (as long as their needs for both challenge and support are being met.) They provide the basis for company direction and set the strategic goals. Other “employees” of the company are "free agents" who are hired on a per project basis. These people are hired for their specific abilities for specific projects. Some of these free agents will be retirees, brought back to preserve the corporate memory, the values that the company represents.
In some cases, employees who have left the company for other pursuits are being welcomed back. They come armed with not only their previous company knowledge, but also with new experience from leaving and possibly working for the competition. Because of dedication to their craft, they bring new ideas and attitudes back to their old company.
Flextronics is one of the electronics manufacturing services providers that are building networks and collaborating with competitors. Big name electronics companies are asking contractors like them to design new products, trusting them with intellectual property that before was a closely guarded secret. Flextronics does not make their own brand-name products. Instead they provide production to customers. They may be manufacturing a new game for Microsoft today and make a variety of telecom products for Motorola tomorrow. They have the ability to quickly change their process so that the phone they build today for Motorola looks and is different from the phone they may build tomorrow for Samsung. But both are high quality and both large companies are capitalizing on what Flextronics has learned about what works and doesn’t work in the manufacturing process. Flextronics is known for its high quality end product. They also are masters at combining components from around the world.
A Flextronics-made cell phone may comprise radio frequency components designed in Norway, custom chips created in Israel, circuit boards crafted in India, factory tooling developed in Italy, and mechanical engineering from Taiwan and Colorado. And the Flextronics plant and its 4,000 workers are located on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. These team members have probably never met their counterparts that are developing these products in other countries and really don’t need to. They are able to communicate with them so that each piece fits into the end product. Virtual teams such as these, with diverse backgrounds and experiences, will continue to propagate and excel in the future.
Taking ActionThere is no magic formula to transform a company from the previous principles to the team of tomorrow. However, these are some mileposts on the journey:
— Broadcast the plan or vision
When a project team is being formed or a change from the status quo proposed, the direction and goals must be well understood by everybody. People attach meaning to a message, model or symbols of where the team is headed. Consistency and constancy of the guiding vision is fundamental to creating a positive environment for success. The terms used when the plan is articulated will give people a way to discuss the values of the project. Giving team members a road map of expectations allows them to see how they will benefit and how they will be affected. Confidence breeds a willingness to take risks and be optimistic about the plan.
— Give everyone a chance to contribute and lead
Team members will continue to become even more specialized in their areas of expertise. But expertise alone will not be enough for them to be a valuable, contributing team member. They will also need to be thinking like an entrepreneur, acting as if they owned the business and satisfying the client before they get paid. Tomorrow’s team members must be very active and volunteer good ideas to help the team move forward. By rotating team leadership, the responsibility, stress and accolades are shared. Tom Peters says, “The new Rolodex will deemphasize bosses and traditional power figures, focusing more on peers (future project mates!) who appreciate your clear-cut contributions.” Not only will the opportunity for professional growth be a benefit to team members, they are more likely to stay with the project (or company) because of the challenge that every day brings.
— Reward a “results-oriented” spirit
Everyone appreciates being recognized for their accomplishments. Team leaders and peers must actively reward the spirit of collaboration and results when it happens. In the old model recognition was through bonuses and yearly rewards that were offered by our supervisors. Rewards don’t necessarily mean money either. Ask team members what perks would make them feel appreciated. When ideas such as fun activities, food, casual dress, tickets for entertainment or travel, music and pets in the office emanate from employees, the perks are more likely to be a real incentive.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to have fun. To have the best team takes good communication and trust which can be built when people play together. It has long been known that the shortest distance to connecting any number of people is through fun.
After all, if it weren't fun, would the geese fly thousands of miles?
www.robinthompson.com
