Strong teams a winning recipe
Teamwork in business is crucial, and I like how Andrew Carnegie puts it, “[it] is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments towards organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results”. Without teamwork, humankind would not have achieved the momentous things that it has and we wouldn’t have the lives that we have today.
Of late, the most effective team out there is the New Zealand cricket team. Affectionately known as the Black Caps — although their headwear is actually more of a colour combo — the team is capturing the imagination with their performances.
I was fortunate enough to catch the tail end of the epic win over the West Indies and, like it was with the World Cup hosted in this part of the world, I am a believer.
Cricket is an interesting mix of individual achievement (batting and bowling) and teamwork (fielding and the understanding between batsmen). And it is in the field where the Kiwis are distinguishing themselves and demonstrating what appears to be a strong and positive team dynamic.
The test will be to see how they perform at the “business end” of the tournament, but
the early evidence is good.
The most effective teams are the right mix of skills and personality profiles. Management harnesses this mix in the right way to get results by knowing their team really well and assigning them to the right roles. Individuals bring different things to the team dynamic so it’s essential that team managers understand this, because everyone is different.
If you work to understand the profiles of your people, you might be surprised with the results. You might think you have an extrovert in your team when really they lean towards introversion in certain situations, for example. The most cohesive teams have a balance of skills and talents and diversity properly harnessed can be extremely powerful.
So the lesson here is, and I have said this before, you don’t have Beauden Barrett propping the scrum because the truth is that he is best for the team in a particular position, playing a particular role.
Great teams also have the opportunity to apply those skills and be creative, so it’s important that you allow your people the opportunity to grow and not force them into a box.
In the Cricket World Cup the Black Caps and a few other teams will be looking to win, while others like Afghanistan are trying to better their previous personal bests.
However, effective teamwork against opposition who are not cohesive can often yield a win or at least a surprising result.
In that regard the performances of previous powerhouses, like South Africa, show examples where the team is not performing to heights of the past.
What is required here is analysis of the shortcomings and investing in methods and approaches to improve team performances.
The most effective teams are the right mix of skills and personality profiles.
And it is here where leadership is crucial and investment in upskilling the team can lead to the desired and expected results. Just as successful teams are more than a single player, there are plenty of examples where great leadership and belief took entire teams to great achievements when, on paper, they looked weaker than their opposition.
Excellent teamwork means anything is possible.