Sep 14, 2016

How can you get a team functioning well?

We’re talking a long time ago here, but I had the fortune or misfortune – depending on your point of view – of going to an all-boys school, where I used to row for my summer sport.

Rowing is a unique sport. It is the only sport where everybody does exactly the same thing at exactly the same time and if one person does not pull their all or is slightly out, the magic does not happen. What is the magic?

The magic is bubbles under the boat. It is where the power of the unified crew and synchrony of working together pulls the boat up in the water to the point where air gets trapped under the boat and you can hear it. To a rower, it is a beautiful experience; a reward for the agony.

What makes this possible is…synergy!

In team leadership we talk about the synergy of a team working so effectively together that the sum of the parts produces more than the actual sum itself. Quite often this will occur in teams where members play different roles and the effective coordination leads to the feeling that there is an extra player on the team. A team of mediocre players playing this way can usually beat a team of stars who do not play effectively together.

The same is true for working teams as well as sporting teams.

What is it that makes synergy happen?

Certainly leadership is a very telling factor but the quality of the team members is also very important.

If you have a ‘Lay down Sally’ in your crew (team) it is pretty hard to function. Sally Robbins was involved in an infamous incident in the 2004 where during the final 400 metres Robbins dropped her oar, allowing it to drag in the water, gave up and laid back on crewmate Julia Wilson's lap. Australia, consequently, finished last, ten seconds behind the fifth place crew.

Training your team is very important; they need to be good at their technical skill. However, in order to gain synergy, understanding of people skills, such as effective communication, being able to build harmonious relationships and deal with conflict, all skills we teach, are important to achieving success within teams, especially where there are high demands on the team.

From a leadership perspective, having a good game plan is important but understanding the motivations of team members and their Achilles heels and how to manage those is important. Good leadership is the glue that allows the synergy to flow.

Have you got bubbles?

As an aside, a wonderful book I read last year which prompted this blog is called Boys in the Boat. It is about the crew that represented USA in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and is a tale of overcoming adversity and of great team work. An amazing book if you have ever rowed and a great story if you haven’t.

For more information, have a look at our Management and Leadership Training Courses and Team Leadership Training Course.