Team Game Follow-Up

The Team Game responses were minimal but well thought out. Maybe you’ll see some you like; maybe you won’t. If you don’t see any you agree with, it’s your own fault for not submitting your ideas. The whole plan here is to lay the foundation for a lunch conversation, so if you have thoughts, that lunch will be a great time to share them, assuming you can meet for lunch in the Dallas area. If you’re too far away to get with us for lunch, please send me your thoughts so I can throw them out there during our lunch discussion.

If you want to review the original team game and team member descriptions, CLICK HERE.

As you may recall the idea was to unite a team of four individuals with disparate views on both work and each other. You are the new team leader with neither the immediate option of firing individuals or increasing their pay, although future pay increases, financial incentives, and/or adding team members are all possibilities.

• Determine each team players motivation and the method to motivate them to improve the relationships and improve productivity.
  • Buck appears to want people to like him. Since he knows powerful people, I would suggest he find a person he could connect to Laticia that could help with her son’s situation.
  • Laticia is in need of money and a way to solve her son’s situation. An incentive program with monetary rewards, might be a big motivator for her.
  • Rickee. Working from home is important and understanding his gender fluidity. Incentive program monetary or ability to work a day a week from home. With productivity requirements.
  • Maria. Talk with HR about the company benefits for help with depression. Diversity training to outline a plan for working with people whom you do not agree with their lifestyle.
• Meet with each team member separately and listen intently to their story. Ask questions to determine their strong suits and frustrations.
• Institute hybrid work conditions with work-from-home on Tuesday through Thursday with Mondays and Fridays in the office for organizational meetings and collaboration
• Pay everyone to participate in a non-work volunteer project once per quarter. Include happy hour afterwards.
• Clearly define the team’s mission and each member’s contribution, paying special attention to the value of each member’s input.
  • Celebrate team member successes often
• Provide motivational materials (books/videos/courses) to help them understand the advantages of working as a team rather than an individual

Those are some of ideas I received. I reworded them slightly for consistency, but I did NOT change their meaning. Below are a few of my own ideas which I hope don’t agree completely with so we can meet individually or at the group lunch and discuss.

First, I’m a believer in Dave Logan’s “Tribal Leadership” principles. That entails communicating with each person to find out where they stand on Logan’s 1-5 scale of engagement and following up with encouragements specifically designed to move them up one level of engagement at a time. This isn’t a 30-day project but nothing great comes overnight.

Second, I love Daniel Coyle’s concept of team development. Three of his principles define what I believe could bring about dynamic change in any group.

• Shared vulnerability (letting team members know the leader is not infallible) is a key ingredient.
  • This complements Warren Bennis’ concept of an “Atmosphere that promotes open and honest feedback”.
• Creating a “circle of safety” where every member knows they are accepted and protected by leadership. With regards to this concept in particular, I concur with the earlier comments about finding a way to get Latricia out of her second job. “Nobody can serve two masters.” I read that somewhere.
• Absolutely defined purpose wherein everyone knows what (and when) success looks like and what incremental goals each member needs to meet in order for the team’s success to happen.

Last, in “The Happiness Advantage,” Shawn Achor provides some great principles for finding meaning and fellowship in the midst of our pursuits rather than as a post-success benefit. What better place to give and receive positive psychological input on a daily basis than the workplace? Our individual success will always and only be measured by how successful we made other people.

I’ll figure out a date after the first of the year as well as a centrally-located restaurant where as many of us as have an interest can meet for lunch and a feisty discussion.

If you think this article was perfect, I don’t want to hear about it; my ego is already large enough. But if you want to discuss some alternatives, hit reply and let me know. I’ll buy you coffee or something stronger so we can swap ideas. I want to know what you think!

If I thought of today’s game as an open-book test, these are the reference books I’d bring. They’re not all business books but they’re all filled with powerful truth about human relationships, both in and out of the office. Hopefully, you’re familiar with other books on the topic. If so, I’d like to hear about them. If you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts.