Tug of war is a contest where 2 teams pull at opposite ends of a rope until 1 drags the other over a central line. It’s not always the biggest or strongest team that wins but the team who works better together while pulling in the same direction. Being part of a team at work provides a similar experience. You’re either a member of a high performing team or you’re not.
How closely is everyone’s day to day activity aligned to achieving organisational objectives? It’s a simple question that receives mixed responses:
“Yes”
“No”
“Sometimes”
“I think so”
“Why wouldn't we”
“Maybe”
The list goes on. It’s easy to understand that time and resources are limited but harder to comprehend how effectively they’re utilised because what’s the benchmark?
A telling statistic from PwC’s 17th annual Global CEO Survey was: 78% of global CEO’s surveyed expected to transform their organisations yet only 54% of organisations were satisfied with their ability to execute on their strategic vision.
When alignment isn’t present in a team there will be:
An absence of effective planning - quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily plans are either not present or focussed incorrectly
Incorrect priorities - based on urgency not importance
Proactive v’s Reactive - too much activity is reactive instead of being proactive driving the delivery of desired outcomes
Lack of clarity - there’s confusion of job roles and responsibilities
Effort is wasted - workers are busy but not maximising potential
Morale - is low when outcomes aren’t being achieved
Poor leadership - apparent with stressed employees who don’t achieve targeted outcomes
Focusing on productivity is the fastest way to address the 7 traits of an ineffective team. Provide the skills, forum and culture for individuals within a team to produce the right work faster that achieves individual and organisational objectives. Imagine the impact if everyone developed a rhythm of work to relieve pressure and achieve outcomes by leveraging their strengths and minimising their weaknesses. Now that would be a winning team!!!