The Need for Teamwork

Photo by Scott Maxwell

I had lunch yesterday with some former coworkers, and I was reminded of how easily a team can be broken down.  I firmly believe that teams can produce astonishing results beyond what they could achieve as a group of individuals, but in order for that to happen, the team needs to be self-organizing--the team decides how it will accomplish its work.  There is still management, although it may look quite different from how an organization has previously managed people, and some thought must be given to who is on the team.  Esther Derby has a great post here about self-organizing teams and managers.  The pressure cooker method of forming teams seems rather typical in my experience, and it's not very effective.  The group may be able to get work done, but there will be struggles along the way.  Sadly, those "teams" lead to articles titled "Why Teams Don't Work" (which actually is a great article, by the way).  A team needs a well-understood goal, it needs to be clear who is on the team, and they need to be able to learn how to work together effectively.

Back to my lunch, my former coworkers grew into a strong team when I worked with them.  Since I left, their goals have become less clear (and too many), the team has multiplied with the addition of offshore developers, and their superpowers ability to self-organize has been lessened.  But because they had formed a strong team previously, they are not taking all of the changes lying down: they flex their team muscles and adapt the way they work to best fulfill their immediate goals.  Someone tries to change how they work, and they push back gently but firmly.  They look for opportunities for individual and team growth, and they take them.

Are organizations scared of teams?

Allison Pollard

Allison Pollard is a coach, consultant, and trainer who brings the power of relationship systems intelligence to go beyond tasks, roles, and frameworks to create energy for change. She engages with people and teams in a down-to-earth way to build trust and listen for signals to help them learn more and improve. Allison focuses on creating alignment and connection for people to solve business problems together. Her experience includes working with teams and leaders in energy, retail, financial, real estate, and transportation industries to help improve their project/product delivery and culture. Allison currently volunteers as program director for Women in Agile’s mentorship program. Her agile community focus is championing new voices and amplifying women as mentors and sponsors for the next generation of leaders. Allison earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science, mathematics, and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), a foodie, and proud glasses wearer. Allison is a prolific speaker at professional groups and international conferences, including Scrum Gatherings and the Agile Alliance Agile20xx conferences. Allison is co-owner of Helping Improve LLC.

http://www.allisonpollard.com
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