What does 'One Team' really mean?

It’s not difficult to get people to agree that a ‘One Team’ mindset and approach will be beneficial for their organisation. The promise of better leveraging resources, greater speed and agility, and less waste is compelling.

But .... when it comes to defining what  ‘one team’ really means things aren't always so clear.

Accordingly, let's look at three introductory concepts that form part of the think one team methodology which can be helpful in creating a common language about 'one team'.

Principle #1:  'One team' means great alignment and teamwork within and between teams.

 'One team' doesn't mean everyone connected to everyone (and living in some sort of bliss).  That's neither desirable nor feasible. However what is needed is an answer to the question:

Which linkages / relationships are most important to drive greater speed and quality in your enterprise?

The answer will come from within one or more of the following areas:

1. Within teams (particularly leadership teams where unity is critical to alignment and flow)
2. Between teams / functions (eg: sales to operations, head office to regions)
3. On cross-functional projects / multi-disciplinary teams
4. With alliances and other external partners
5. Between managers and direct reports

Armed with awareness that these are your 'mission critical linkages' (where the enterprise needs one team behaviours / practices) the next step is to remember that 'one team' isn't about demolishing silos ....it's about connecting them (or 'punching holes in them').

That means understanding the five practices that characterise one team operations, so we can assess current state and develop skills, capabilities and practices. That introduces the second principle....

Principle #2:  It's not about the silos - it's about five practices

The five practices model of think one team describes the five groupings of behaviors and practices that distinguish 'silo thinking' from 'one team' thinking.

The diagram below highlights the five practices and a brief descriptor for each. 



These practices offer an extremely effective tool to understand and assess the extent and quality of teamwork and partnering across any or all of the five linkages / relationships discussed above. For example, if getting two or more functions to work as 'one team' is important, then we need to know to what extent they currently share a bigger picture than their own individual business units.

(Various versions of diagnostics are available, so check the tools section in the Thought Leadership section of our website www.thinkoneteam.com - thought leadership for an example of an asessment tool for United Leadership). 

Principle #3:  Develop 'one team' skills and capabilities

After over five years of working on developing the various development suites that comprise Think One Team, my view is that 'one team skills' come down to three words: Align - Collaborate - Learn.

These three words describe the 'conversation cycle' that is exactly what's needed in any of the key linkages / relationships. In particular, when the teamwork and partnering is happening there is a continual cycle of alignment, collaboration and learning.

For example, to develop a united leadership team requires a continual process of Alignment (values, goals, expectations), Collaboration (on problems and opportunities) and Learning (feedback, debriefing, adapting).

That's why our entire Think One Team International suite is now navigated through these three elements, so that clients can target the right tool for the right linkage / connection - .(I'll explain more in a future blog)

Summary

There is no doubt that one team skills are the key to adapting and performing in the increasingly volatile business world.

If your enterprise is keen to better capture those benefits of working together as 'one team' then here are the three key points:

1. Define precisely where you most need alignment and teamwork within and between teams (ie is it between teams, or perhaps amongst leaders?)

2. Understand and assess the current practices in those 'mission critical' areas by using the five practices model

3. Build 'one team' capabilities by instilling skills and tools that guide leaders and teams in your mission critical linkages / relationships to align - collaborate - learn together

For more details on how to foster the all-important one team skills please visit our website at www.thinkoneteam.com

What is the most important role in the business?

At a recent retreat we asked a group of leaders to identify the most important role in their organisation. Two people ‘voted’ for the Chief Executive and then not surprisingly the rest chose a range of functional roles in Sales, Operations and Finance.

The reason for asking the question was to stimulate a discussion about the role that I am convinced is absolutely the most important. The Team Leader.

Why the Team Leader?

The vast majority of business initiatives require nimble teams that are skilled at their own technical tasks and also skilled in collaborating with others across the business (and outside). The Team Leaders sits right in the middle of that challenge.

Unfortunately, a significant percentage of team leaders are subject matter experts who understand the technical side of their role but have limited capability to develop their team and to connect it with others.

The result is a feature called ‘experts in silos’ and it is arguably the biggest threat to any organisation being nimble and adaptive.

Expect to see a much stronger focus on team leader capability and accountability in the next 1-2 years because the whole business is affected when one or two leaders ‘ring fence’ their functions and make it difficult for others to do their job.

Try this exercise:

Grab a black marker pen and draw separate circles on a whiteboard for every functional team in the organisation (including the Executive Team). Write the team’s name inside the respective circle.

Now pick up a red marker pen and colour in each team circle where the level of collaboration or partnering isn’t what’s needed to execute the strategy at speed.

Now ask yourself what damage that is doing in the organisation.

Develop those Team Leaders

When most organisations do this exercise they are confronted by the reality that their team leaders are not only equipped mainly to be technical leaders, but that the organisation reinforces this through its KPI’s and other recognition systems.

My view is clear and strong:  in a disruptive and rapidly changing world, the most important role in the organisation is the Team Leader (from CEO to Frontline) because they hold the opportunity (and the accountability) to mobilise and connect the teams that tackle the challenges that will make or break the business.