Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

The Principal Coaching Clinic #19

Is your team truly connected?

I have a hunch that you read my question for the week and very quickly answered in the affirmative.  Perhaps you wanted to just dismiss it and stop reading.  Of course, your team is connected.  But is it?  Do you move as one?  Does your team take priority over any individual on that team?

When I was in the game, I thought my team was connected.  Yet now as I reflect upon how my team worked, I can assure you that any true connection was a dream.  Our connectivity was a myth.  We were a group of individuals acting as individuals and every now and then we would rally and act like some semblance of a team. However, this would quickly fade.  To work like a connected team, you must think about it, and you must practice it. 

I believe that before you can perform like a team you must select the right members for your team. Being able to assimilate into a team and contribute as a high functioning member of that team is a personal quality that somehow gets lost in the interview process. Instead of ignoring this quality, perhaps it should be the most important quality that we seek.

Daniel Coyle, in his book The Culture Code addresses two important aspects of building your team.  Namely, the individual’s personal vulnerability and the individual’s ability to connect with the team.  He points to a variety of groups that demonstrate these qualities, especially the elite military groups.  Coyle goes on to describe how the Navy Seals are able to perform without ever talking.  They can function as one without any direction.  They support one another.  When one person falters, the others will pick up the slack.  They know it and they can feel it. Let’s pause here for a bit of reflection.  Does your team in your school or place of business possess this quality?  Or is it all about the individual? 

This notion causes me to recall my teammates or fellow coaches who never really cared if the team won or lost.  These induvial only cared about their personal game statistics or if the unit that he or she coached played well.   You can see this in action on many football teams.  For example, I have seen offensive and defensive units disregard the true team concept and regardless of the result of the game, only cared if their offense or defense played well. They easily accept the loss if their group played well.  This divisiveness can become entrenched.  When this occurs, you can just about forget about winning and you can wave good-bye to accomplishing any team goals.

Your team in your school, or at work, must function as one.  Team members have to pay attention to their teammates.  Your team must perform like a team without thinking about it.  You, as the leader, must also check your ego at the door, and model this behavior. You cannot ask your teammates to do something that you will not or cannot do. Your team must practice this type of behavior until it becomes second nature.  Ultimately, it will become easier for you and your team to “just play the game.”