Teamwork is an integral part of being able to
get the job done this day and age. For most of us, the ability to do all
the work on our own every single day is simply impossible. Because of the
speed and expectations of the world we live in, we need to collaborate,
communicate and become a more cohesive unit with others both within and outside
our organizations. In the text, Denning discusses the purpose and
elements of High-performance teams. He states, “High-performance teams
are exceptional. In addition to having the basics in place-clear goal,
appropriate leadership and membership, and adequate resources and
support-high-performance teams exhibit characteristics of community as well” (Denning, 2011, p. 155) .
Recently, I was asked to be a member of a High-performance team.
A group of twenty experts on the deployment process were asked to come
together and figure out ways we can streamline and improve the way we deploy
and move large amount of cargo and people within a short period of time.
We worked together for nine hours a day for a week on improving these
processes. By bringing experts together in different areas of the
deployment processes, we were able to greatly improve on the way things are
done. The first element Denning talks about is that “high-performance teams
actively shape the expectations of those who use their output-and then exceed
the resulting expectations” (Denning, 2011, p. 155) . One of our
goals during our time together was to come to a better understanding of what
our Wing Commander wanted from us. We needed to identify problems in the
process, areas we needed to test, and a variety of ways to accomplish them
depending on different situations. What we came up with was one
streamlined process and a fast and efficient communication method that would
enable us to make changes to the process depending on the situation. In
this manner, we exceeded expectations, simplified the process and enabled us to
judge each situation as it happened and make informed decisions.
This
brings us to the second element, “High-performance teams rapidly adjust their
performance to the shifting needs of the situation. They innovate on the
fly, seizing opportunities and turning setbacks into good fortune” (Denning, 2011, p. 155) . By bringing
together experts, we were able to make adjustments based on the situation at
hand. Using recent deployment experiences, we were able to discuss how we
would handle multiple situations. A recent experience we had was the 24
hour delay of a flight. This delay would impact our ability to get troops
and equipment on the ground in the deployed location. When this happened,
we pulled the team together and used our expertise to make adjustments so
enough people and equipment could make it to the location, using other methods,
on time, so the mission would not be impacted. This entire process only
took about two hours to handle. Because we had the right minds and right
amount of communication, we were able to get the job done.
The next element is “High-performance teams
grow steadily stronger” (Denning, 2011, p. 155) . One of the
most difficult things we deal with in the military is the constant personnel
change. Often, we only stay at one location for around three years, and
during that time we can be deployed or TDY for months. Because of this,
the ability to learn and grow as a team is greatly hindered. We have to
quickly get to know new people all the time, and those new people often need to
learn the base, their location and how things work there at a rapid pace.
In my own career field, I could be working in deployments, then materiel
management, and then vehicle maintenance. By the time I begin to
understand and learn my job, I could be thrown into a field that I know nothing
about. These things hinder the ability to build a high-performance team.
I feel that while there are many things that make it difficult for us to
grow and learn as a team, the importance of the mission pushes us to step up or
a heighten our learning pace, so we can come together quickly and efficiently.
We often set aside frustrations and difference, because we know the job
must get done: lives depend on it. Within only a couple of months, we are
often anticipating each-others needs and going out of our way to help others
get their job done.
This brings us to the next element of a high-performance team.
This element states that, “The members of a high-performance team grow
individually. Mutual concern for each other’s personal growth enables
high-performance teams to develop interchangeable skills and hence greater
flexibility” (Denning, 2011, p. 156) . While we will
never know the exact details of everyone else's jobs, we are able to foresee
and anticipate the things they will need. One of the ways we do this in
my own work environment is by tailoring information to those that need it.
By understanding the roles other organizations play in deployments, we
can better provide them the information they need, in a comprehensive format,
and in a timely manner. When we receive a list of equipment that will be
deploying and notice that vehicles are on that list, we send the list to
vehicle maintenance so they can start preparing those items for deployment.
By doing this, we save them a lot of panic and stress by giving them
enough time to do their job and get ahead of the curve.
The next element states that high-performance
teams are “fueled by interpersonal commitments, the purposes of
high-performance teams become nobler, team performance goals more urgent, and
team approach more powerful” (Denning, 2011, p. 156) . As each
member of the team works together, gets to know one another and communicates
more often, we begin to develop a desire to help one another reach a higher
level of success. Because of the relationships I have developed over the
past 9 months working in the deployment readiness cell, I have often worked
longer hours and gone out of my way to help those around me. When
communication breaks down or a “bad egg” is introduced into the environment it
can hurt these commitments. An experience I had with this involved a
Master Sergeant I had never worked with before. On several occasion, he
would call our section and start yelling at the people that worked there for
not sending him information he needed when he wanted it by. This
information was not actually supposed to come from our shop. In all
honesty, I had no problem with sending the information to his section, but
because of the way he treated my airmen, I told him to forget getting any help
from us until he could figure out how to treat people with respect. He
had the same outburst on several other occasions, and each time I sat him down
and suggested he figure out how to treat people otherwise the problem would
continue. I may have been stoking the fire and not approaching the
situation appropriately; however, I tend to feel protective of my airmen and
don’t like it when others treat them poorly. After this last
conversation, things turned around and I made sure my airmen had information to
him as soon as possible. I wanted to make sure he understood that his
efforts to change would be reciprocated, and we would take care of his needs
when he was respectful. I felt doing this would help each section develop
a desire to make sure the others’ needs are met.
The final element states, “High-performance teams carry out their
work with shared passion. The notion that “if one of us fails, we all
fail” pervades the team” (Denning, 2011, p. 156) . This is never truer
than in a deployment process team. When I think of the deployment
process, it reminds me of the old Mouse Trap board game. The purpose of
the game was to catch the mouse with the little plastic net. If any part of
the contraption broke, the ball would fall to the wayside and the entire trap
would fail leaving the mouse to enjoy his cheese freely at the end. The
same goes for deployments. If the cargo is broken, the mission may fail;
if people are not ready, the mission may fail; and if each process owner cannot
do their job, then planes, people, and cargo do not leave, and the entire
mission will fail. Because of this, each member of the team has an
intense desire to do their part and help other members of the team be able to
do their part also. Quite literally, if one of us fails, we all fail.
We cannot allow this to happen.
One key aspect of being a high-performance
team is having a shared set of values. When teams fail, usually it is
because their values and priorities different from one another. If one
member values personnel, while another values profit, we may see problems
arise. The first person will gear their ideas, decisions and goals
towards the good and well-being of the personnel involved. The other
member of the team will, in turn, gear their goals and ideas toward the health
of the financial state of the company and being able to turn a profit.
While both of the values are incredibly important to the success of an
organization, both individuals need to be on the same page when it comes to the
level of importance each value holds. Denning states “When we’re in this
sort of situation, we see that the other members of the group have different
values, and this leaves us with the feeling that future collaboration would be
horrible to contemplate” (Denning, 2011, p. 159) . Being able to take a step back and examine
each-others values and why each member holds those values may enable the team
to come to a common ground. This will then allow the team to become a cohesive
unit that thinks and acts more as one.
There are times that we will be asked to work together with others
to meet goals, develop ideas, or change the way something is being done.
There are four patterns that exist when we come together as a group.
The first is a work group. Often a work group is mistaken for a
team. The key differences here are that each member of the team does not
necessarily need to work together to get their part of the job done.
Sometimes each member will share similar tasks and supervisors; however,
they do not need to necessarily collaborate and work together to accomplish the
goal. Often, a team's success depends on each member to work with the
others, do their part and communicate with each other. By knowing and
understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses, the team becomes stronger
and more efficient. The third is community. A community is not
necessarily a team. They do not need a common goals or objective they
need to hit. They do not need to be organized by leadership or by a
supervisor. A community may have a common interest, be self-organized,
and have a desire to discuss the things they can do to improve on those
interests. They may meet weekly, monthly or even yearly. Common
values and ideas more often bring a community together than an active goal or
objective that needs to be achieved. The last work pattern is a network.
A network is usually made up of a large number of people that all share a
common interest or goal. In my own work environment, I am a member of
several different networks. I am a member of the Logistics Officers
Association, the Company Grade Officers Association and even an Installation
Deployment Officers group. Each network is made up of different people
and groups that I have things in common with. Being a member of each of
these networks allows me to seek advice, stay current on changes in the
workplace, and even call on favors when needed. Networks are generally
only meant to help people keep in touch and stay up to date on things that are
happening in those particular fields.
I think most of us can say we have had a
negative experience in a team. Most of the problems I have had in teams
come from poor communication and a lack of shared values. I was once part
of a team while working on my bachelor’s degree that was expected to develop
and host a community event for a local non-profit organization. Two
members of the team had absolutely zero desire to do any work at all.
Every chance they had to leave early, not show up, or not get the work
done, they took. They left the other members of the team to do twice as
much work. In the end, the community even suffered because they had not
contacted some of the people they were supposed to, to be a part of the event.
One of these happened to be the group that we were hoping would donate
food. Because of this, I was left to spend a great deal of money last
minute to get food there. Having team members with little to no desire to
accomplish their tasks and be a contributing teammate can be incredibly
frustrating. Looking back, I wish I would have approached the team
members from the beginning and discussed what the problems were, and hopefully
sparked some level of desire to contribute more to the project.
A positive experience has been with the
networks I am currently involved in. Because of the friends I have made
in the various networks I am a part of, I have been able to get help on a
number of occasions. In the military world they call us the Lieutenant
Mafia. Because we are young and generally at the operational level of the
work force, we know the people that can help us get the job done. When we
call on each other for help we do it, because we know that the other will do
the same. I have done this on a number of occasions while others have
done the same for me. A couple times I've got people approved last minute
to get on a plane about to leave for a deployed location because another
Lieutenant or co-worker needed it. One such occasion happened when we
sent a group of people to Poland for an exercise. A last minute change
took place that shouldn’t have, so when another Lieutenant called asking for my
help, I did what I could to make it happen. He was on the plane and out
the door with the rest of the group with less than an hour to go before the
plane took off. Having networks like this can make a great difference in
our ability to get the job done and even go above and beyond to make things
happen when they seem like it may be impossible.
Working
together, whether in high-performance teams or not comes down to communication,
values and our desire to work with others to accomplish the task at hand.
When we show respect, empathy and a desire to learn about the other
person, we greatly enhance our effectiveness and the desires of others to work
with us. Being able to work with others effectively and efficiently will
make a huge difference in the success of each of our organizations.
References
Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to
Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San
Fransisco: Josey-Bass.
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