One of the issues with teamwork is that it means many things to different people. A very good friend of mine who is highly successful believes that teams are best left on the sports field. He believes very strongly that clear leadershipcombined with a huge infusion of savvy is all you need to be successful.
On closer examination you discover that his employees work in small focused groups with each group interdependent upon each other. Each week he briefs his team leaders on priorities, responsibilities and objectives. He allows no time for discussion and builds his success around clear command and control behaviours.
However, each month he steps away from his usual weekly behaviours, and invites his team leaders to attend the meeting in a local hotel, where he facilitates a root and branch feedback session on orders, accounts and pipeline. Production, distribution, sales, marketing, accounts and operations all discuss the disconnect that invariably occur within any month of business.
And here is the first key to his success – continuous improvement and the removal of blame culture.
I was invited along to one of these sessions to observe and contribute. The first departure from the norm was to see my friend open up the meeting with a summary of company performance and an assessment of his own performance across the month. This included where he had ‘dropped the ball’ and where he thought he had ‘saved the day’, or when he knew he was on the ‘hot spot.’
Each one of these three areas had three entries and each section was brainstormed by the whole team for five minutes, all outcomes were noted and the process moved on to the next team leader. With 12 team leaders this process started at 8am and finished at 2pm, a working lunch was provided, and no drinks breaks were allowed. Toilet breaks were taken at will and all phones, BlackBerrys and computers were banned. No interruptions were allowed.
By 2pm the outcomes had been pinned around the room and for the next two hours fluid assessments were agreed and solutions found. The meeting breaks at 4pm sharp. This happens every month with participants working with each other to find results. The team has been together for over 5 years and demonstrates a deep respect for each other that permeates across the whole company.
As this process has grown, and trust and team spirit has evolved alongside it., These meetings have developed into a morning’s work, as team leaders develop solutions on the fly. These are then presented in the ‘saved the day’ slot – and the ‘penalty’ and ‘dropped the ball’ slots are invariably empty.
The afternoon is then spent either with the family or doing what they want. No one is allowed back into the business until 8am the next day.
The irony is that my friend, who doesn’t believe in team ethics, drives a very successful team-orientated business. The difference is that he does run a fat structure, a hierarchical business and he has a passionate disbelief in management by committee.
The idea of the team ‘hot spot’ is to flag up clients who are exhibiting behaviours of distress. Once the team agrees the client’s status, the client is transferred to the incubation team who take full responsibility to bring the client back to full corporate health. The client is eventually taken back by the original team and the new behaviours fully engaged.
To me, my friend has evolved a system of ‘concierge teams that dominate the organisation.’ Groups of customers are assigned to teams who manage the client for life. Customers are identified by segment, behaviour, or with customers with certain quintile value or frequency of involvement with the corporation.
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