That Time I Worked in the Mythical Dream Team
Yes, it really happened.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to appreciate it at the time. I had no basis for comparison, it was my first real job.
Ignorance aside I’d like to breakdown the fundamentals of that team so that you can see how yours stacks up, and hopefully incorporate some of the principles.
Most of this is not rocket science, and it’s not new either.
The team as a brand
In all our work, we were aware of ourselves as a part of a team. The perception of the team within the organization was treated as our internal brand.
The perception of the team to our clients, and therefore of the organization was treated as the external brand.
We cared about our brand, because a great reputation meant more work, and more work meant job security, and a great CV.
We had a micro climate
We had a micro climate within the organisational culture — yes, it’s a lot of buzz words.
What is a micro climate? It’s a recurring pattern of behaviour, attitudes and feelings that characterize life in the team. It’s important to understand that healthy micro climates can exist within even the most toxic organisational culture.
Creating a micro climate is largely the responsibility of the manager, and how they structure the team. It is important to play to individual strengths and comforts while still realising where there’s scope for growth. It’s also about how team members are approached, and coached in approaching one another.
We had a weekly check in
Every Monday morning, we sat as a team and discussed the status of work items, what was due, who was going on leave, where the issues were and what the upcoming week held. Attendance at this meeting was non-negotiable.
If there were capacity problems team members put up their hands to take over the work that was in jeopardy.
If a team member felt that they couldn’t handle a certain task, a plan for handover or training was immediately made.
Unexpected deviations or urgent requirements were taken care of.
We ditched ego in favour of friendship
Maybe we were lucky to have a bunch of people who for the most part really liked one another, or maybe it was because we could trust that feedback was always well intentioned, and that we had each other’s backs.
Work was regularly shared among the team to offer a fresh pair of eyes on an issue, document, or solution. Removing the idea that having your work reviewed was a disciplinary measure was essential. Creating the understanding that it was merely a safety net for the teams ‘brand’ helped each of us put aside any shame we may have felt at making a mistake.
We were also allowed to make mistakes, with the safety net of having your team member review your work as assurance. Mistakes had a price — a nominal fine per mistake paid into the team kitty to be used towards team drinks at the end of the month.
We did team drinks during work time
Asking an employee to participate in a team building/bolstering activity during their free time is not acceptable. As an organization you are already asking their families for the lion’s share of their time. By expecting an employee to spend more of that time with their team, risking tension at home you are diminishing the positive effects gained by the activity in the first place.
Boundaries were sacrosanct
Family first. They recognized that a person cannot give their best if they don’t feel like they are being treated like a person. It was a very simple boundary, but so effective.
Time. Meetings were never set out of office hours. If clients were late for meetings we could leave, clearly communicating the value of our time. We were always on time, if we knew we weren’t going to make it we always notified the meeting organizer that we would be a bit late.
We had to work weekends occasionally, this was always communicated well in advance so that people could make any arrangements.
We delivered. We did what we said we were going to do, when we said we’d do it. If an exception cropped up we let everyone know as soon as it arose. There was no fear of retribution over something that was out of our control.
Problems were handled directly and privately
If it was within our control issues were handled privately. There was no public shame fest.
Problems were approached not only as a problem, but often with a solution already in mind, or with the request that a solution be developed. You always had the chance to do it right the next time.
Issues were also put to bed quickly, and not dragged out over and over again.
Praise was public
An individual win was a team win. Approaching the team as a brand allowed the team to understand that looking good was not a person thing, but a team thing. This also helped with making each of us more accepting of the constructive part of constructive criticism.
