In the spaces where I work, we hold three things, above all-else, to be sacred. Focusing on individual strengths, making clear our intent, and making leadership everyone’s job. This is a proven, if not over-simplified, base formulae for team success. As long as you’re providing meaningful work to individuals that aligns with their strengths, and a vision that aligns peoples intentions with organizational goals, the rest will, for the most part, work itself out.
Work places are like caterpillars. The legs all have to move in a smooth, efficient sequence for things to progress.
Work places are like caterpillars. The legs all have to move in a smooth, efficient sequence for things to progress. This “three things” model is meant to keep the caterpillar propelling forward. But like any leadership model worth it’s salt, there’s ongoing maintenance. Things get off-track, individuals intentions wander, engagement sags, work needs re-aligning, etc. When someone’s intent waivers, or when someone is being given work that doesn’t align with their strengths and interests, we have a broken caterpillar. It’s up to us as leaders to find effective ways to get things moving again.
Think of a rowing crew. This simple example of a team satisfies all three work conditions: 1.) all crew members are doing work that focuses on their strengths (rowing, generating power, propelling the boat forward), 2.) they have clear intent (to win, or to beat a previous time), and 3.) they are all leaders (they share equally in the work of rowing and encourage/empower each other). When someone slows down, stops rowing, or drags their oars, you have a broken caterpillar.
Does it help to point out this individual, make an example of them? No. This only focuses on what’s not going right, and even if their performance recovers a bit, the motivation is to not get called out again as opposed to being part of the team win. What’s more, it’s a distraction to the rest of the team, and creates rifts where their wasn’t any before. In short, the caterpillar is more broken than before.
The best course of action is to remind the team as a whole to step back, look at the big picture, and recommit to being leaders and to the intention to achieve their shared goals. In essence, in the rowing example, look at the person in front of you and behind you and re-engage. In our places of work, this means understanding when and why things falter, reassessing work arrangements to make sure they’re aligned with individuals’ strengths, and instilling in those individuals a renewed sense of leadership, a renewed commitment to modeling the behavior and traits that will motivate the whole team.