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