April 2012

The Other Side of Leadership: Leadership Disciplines that Matter
by Rich Enners

Use Teams to Maximize Performance

The use of teams and team orientation is perhaps an over-used cliché but in fact an underutilized asset in business. Some leaders use them effectively. Some don't see the benefit or have the patience to monitor the processes that lead to the type of results teams can achieve. We can, however, learn from some of the best examples of teams and their effectiveness to deliver results. Depending on the environment teams compete differently. Some compete within a defined period of time or in a race for time like athletic teams or trauma surgical units. And, some compete over extended periods of time when driven by a mission or successive missions such as the armed services or community service organizations. Whatever the timeframe teams are essential and have unique characteristics that make them successful.

Teams and the Military

The effective use of teams is no more apparent than the armed services. Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (retired) was the national incident commander for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He places the need for "unity of effort" into perspective when faced with a challenge or in case of a natural disaster. "You have to understand at a very large, macro level what the problem is that you're dealing with and what needs to be done to achieve the effects you want — and you have to be able to communicate that. You also have to create a set of shared values that everybody involved can subscribe to".

Navy SEAL teams are the epitome of high performance units. They live (and sometimes die) by three values; never operate alone, accomplish the mission at all cost, and never leave a soldier behind. SEAL teams are highly dependent on each other. Lieutenant Junior Grade Jeff Eggers says "if you are the sort of person who sucks the energy out of the group without giving anything back, then you are going to go away." He further says, "All-out teamwork is carried through in the field. SEAL's never operate on their own and their sense of identification with the group is all but total."

Perhaps the most recent and best example of teamwork, mission orientation, and working within a timeline was the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The mission was two-fold; to kill Osama bin Laden for the atrocities committed by the Al Qaeda and two, gather as much intelligence as practically possible in a limited period of time. Planning, a critical part of any initiative, took several months based on available military intelligence. Based on the mission and matrix of skills in "SEAL Team 6" each team member had a specific job to do. The team was focused and there were no distractions from the mission (objective).

The Business Challenge

If other organizations can develop that goal orientation and "unity of effort" spirit, why is it so difficult for businesses to work as a team and use teams to solve problems or make improvements? Do egos and personal agendas get in the way? Do leaders not see the value that teams serve in developing people? Are there conflicting business goals? Is it too time consuming to develop a scope, set operating parameters, and deliverables for an initiative; reactive vs. proactive priorities? The answer to all of these is yes and the challenge as a leader is to overcome these obstacles.

Texas Instruments, Toyota Motor Company, and General Electric are examples of companies that use teams effectively. For example, Toyota uses cross-functional teams extensively to improve quality and productivity. Teams are empowered to investigate technical or process problems, make recommendations for change, and implement changes to improve the company. Teams are an inherent part of the Toyota culture. General Electric uses teams extensively to solve problems and as a part of their culture, is the basis of developing people. They spend as much time on developing teams as they do on developing people.

Critical Elements for Team Effectiveness

The most successful teams have four critical elements in common.

One, team dynamics are key to performance. Team leaders do not allow egos to take center-stage; nor do senior leaders allow such behavior. What egos they may have are balanced with the needs of the team and the strong desire to deliver results.

Two, leaders demand dependence on one another and as a result a high level of trust is developed among team members. Because the best teams are a mix of the right talents there is an inherent dependence on one another for those talents. A cross-functional team brings different skills and perspectives to business critical issues and is the best approach to selecting team members. "Some of the worst teams I've ever seen have been those where everybody was a potential CEO," says David Nadler, Senior Partner at Oliver Wyman.

Three, teams are mission (goal) oriented. The role of a team is to solve a problem and provide a deliverable. It may be a technical problem, a profitability or asset management issue, or it may be a customer need that must be satisfied. And, in the most extreme cases such as trauma surgical teams save lives. It is critical that the mission be clearly defined with deliverables, timeline established to complete the task, and monitor the progress not only for delivering results but for determining if the process is working? One of the best tools to improve the process comes from the military, the After Action Review (AAR). After the event conduct a review of what went well, what went wrong, and what can be improved.

And four, teams work best with a sense of urgency. Where a particular initiative is expected to last several months like a new business system implementation, inventory, or cost reduction initiative, intermediate timelines and goals should be used in between phases of the project.

Whether you are re-engineering a process because it's broken, working to improve a financial or non-financial metric, or improving customer satisfaction, teams when properly organized and led can do an effective job. There is an added benefit. Team members develop organizational and leadership skills that are essential for the company's future. Teams engage and motivate employees and create a sense of ownership in the business. Effective team performance is truly a competitive advantage.