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In a previous article I looked at some of the challenges to being a team. Many of the challenges that I looked at were related to the creation, care, and feeding of a team. While we’ve all heard that “there is no ‘I’ in team” teams are absolutely made up of individuals. The one individual on the team in particular that I want to look at is ourselves. There are things we can do as individuals to help us be better team members, which will lead to better and stronger teams.
There has been much written about how aspiring leaders can learn valuable leadership skills by trying to be a good follower. I think it works the same way with being part of a team. The best way that we can help a group of folks to become a team is act like a good team member.
What Can We Learn?
When we are part of a team we need to recognize that each member is part of the team because they bring something different and possibily unique to the group. For leaders who are constantly seen as “the answer person” as Mary Jo Asmus puts it, it can be hard to let others share their particular wisdom and knowledge. But we have to do exactly that. We need to fight any urge we have to show that we always have the answer.
Instead, we need use inquiry to gain an understanding from others on the team. As team members, we need to be supportive of the team as a whole as well as each of the individual members. The best way to do this, especially as the team is still learning to work together is to be inquisitive with the purpose of learning.
When we focus on learning all that we can through our membership in the team we gain skills and knowledge that we can take back to our own departments and jobs. But from the standpoint of the team, if we stay focused on learning and inquiry all members of the team are able to get a better understanding of not only each other, but also the things that need to be done and why.
We’re In This Together
One of the things that a highly functioning team does well is stay away from the “blame game”. If we are truly a team and we are “all in this together” then there is no point to trying to place blame when things don’t go as expected.
This isn’t to say that teams need to completely ignore what happened. Certainly if something didn’t go as expected, quickly understanding why is important for future planning. But trying to get to the bottom of things just to find someone to blame is a waste of time and energy. Not to mention how destructive it can be to team morale.
As I mentioned in a previous article, my organization was working on a major implementation project through January and February. There were many parts and many people working hard on this project. There was one particular part that had sequential work being done where I was the last person in the chain before this part was launched. Right up against our deadline I noticed something small but necessary that was missing. It should have been caught by someone who was responsible in the first two parts of the process.
I was angry that it wasn’t caught and had gotten to me in this state a day before it had to be ready. I immediately started writing an email specifically to the person that should have caught it first that I planned to send to the whole team. I got the whole email written, properly chastising the individual and asking that he go back and get it fixed.
Then I realized this was a team effort and teammates pick each other up and help support the work that we are all responsible for. Since I was able to do the work myself, I deleted the email and took the steps needed to get the work completed. But it was important for the future that this not happen again, so instead of bringing it up in our daily team meeting I had a private conversation with the individual explaining why it was important that he watch for this in the future.
Successful teams have members, the individual “I’s” that act as team members. As leaders, once we have taken the time to create and develop a team the best thing we can do is to be a good team member acting in the best interest of the team and each of its members. Doing that will always be in our own best interest.
Leader’s Reflection: The best way to help a team that we are part of to be high performing is to take the lead in being the best team member we can be. We can accomplish this by focusing on learning from other team members and always remembering that the team is in it together.
This is a wonderful example of the difference between holding someone accountable with honor and dignity vs. blaming them for their mistake. After a mistake has already been made the most productive thing you can do is learn from it.
The above article describes an ideal team environment that’s very hard to materialize in a real organization. Team members have their own calculations, that may or may not be in harmony with the project or the strategy of the company. Not to mention that the article doesn’t mention anything about conflicts (of course, some conflict can be constructive, but that’s another story), egos, etc… all negatively affecting the project and the team environment, and the potential for someone to become a better team member.