TEAMWORK ? (con't) !

My most popular post so far has been about teamwork and what initially affords a group of people the opportunity to be successful. The notion of "attentive observation" was introduced in that article and then later explained in more detail in a subsequent post if you feel like entering the labyrinth of my linkedin musings.

The picture of the "team" here is quite different from the "boys in the boat" picture in the first teamwork post in that here, there is a sense of everyone pitching in and working hard. This is an important sensation because it reveals a key fundamental element of team success and that is ... "determination" .... a.k.a. working hard ... and hard work pays off, right ?! ... well, that depends.

Have you fully absorbed and accepted the definition of teamwork proposed in my first teamwork post ? ,,, " a group of people learning, working and growing interdependently to reach specific goals and objectives in support of a common mission ".

This definition represents a vault of opportunity for people to unite, move progressively forward and achieve something worthwhile ... but to realize these 3 huge benefits, it will take figuring out the lock to the vault and that will require 3 "keys". No simple use of 1 key to turn and open like your front door ... or insert 2 keys like your safe deposit box .... no my friend, the successful teamwork vault is tougher to enter... and forget about the crowbar, stethoscope or your light-fingered friend !

3 "keys" to successful teamwork to consider to open your vault of opportunity:

Key 1 = "learning, working and growing interdependently" is not a choice of one or two of these three activities ... the team needs to both work hard and work smart ... plus ... not only rely on each other but also to pull each other along if need be (more to talk about with this "interdependence" stuff, but let's check out the next key ...

Key 2 = "reach specific goals and objectives in support of a common mission" implies the need for both a "what" to agree on and a "how"; this is a foundation idea for any organization hoping to achieve world class excellence; enlightened individuals and companies consider gaining "high agreement" on both what & how, to be one of the most critically important "lean thinking" principles ... more on this later too, but onward to ...

Key 3 = the simple truth that the learning, the working, the growing, the goals, the objectives, the mission .... all should be meaningful ! This is typically implied or assumed... and you know all about the word "ass u me " ! Making things meaningful is not something we wish for ... we plan for it. We need to now remember all that we may have learned about "smart" or "s.m.a.r.t. " goal setting. You can research this approach and I think a future post may be of interest.... specially considering that Key 3 is the most obvious key that our river bucket brigade folks have left behind !

..... to be continued,.. remembering that true "teamwork" is an organic process !

Success depends on planning, developing, nurturing .... not wishing.