Yesterday I started to write about a number of concepts about team building. The sequence in which I am introducing the concepts is not coincidental and should form a coherent framework for you to use in any context in which you are engaged in team working whether it be personal or professional context.
As always I would appreciate your feedback to help improve my writing and the quality of my resources.
Purpose
Whenever we start thinking about team we have to start with purpose. Teams come together for a purpose and often disband once that purpose has been achieved (depending on what exactly the purpose is),
The purpose is central to the existence of the team because it is all defining and it provides an overview to why the team comes together. For this reason the purpose is not the same as goal-setting (more about that next time) in that it is less specific with a clear and well-defined end target that may well change as the scope of the project evolves.
So it's likely to be something like I want to build a garage to use as a workshop (with a possible explanation as to why you want a workshop) rather than the project specifics of how the workshop will actually be built.
It provides a focus that helps keeps things on track. Everything about the teams working stems from the purpose, including the selection of individuals, delegation of tasks and sharing in victories. To ensure that everything is purpose-focused the answer to any why question concerning these issues should reflect this.
Why is this individual on the team? To support the purpose of the team
Why does this person do this task? To support the purpose of the team
Why celebrate victories? To support the purpose of the team
Why? Why? Why? To support the purpose of the team
Anything done in addition to this, however nice it might be is at best superfluous and at worst wasteful and in terms of the efficiency and character of the team is a quintessential to how focused the team is.
A good example of such excess is the fad for integration events. Now there is nothing wrong with greater team integration but if ultimately it doesn't add anything to the team dynamic why do it. The classic stereotype of this type of event is the pub night out. It's great and it might be fun, but on one hand if the team members feel they have to be there it becomes and obligation and frankly we prefer to go to the pub with our friends.
So consider wisely how well such events will be received and if in fact they add anything to the dynamic of the team that helps fulfill the purpose.
In the next article we will look at goals and the role they play in helping a team achieve its purpose
