The Truth about Teams

Organisational psychologist J. Richard Hackman gave an interview in Harvard Business Review, called “Why Teams Don’t Work”. I felt curious about the title as, indeed, I find that often teams don’t work and can sap people’s precious energy, creating a sceptical or even cynical attitude towards meetings of any kind.

I found Prof. Hackman’s interview enlightening in several ways. He mentions reasons why teams often don’t work: problems with coordination and motivation, competition with other teams, too much homogeneity because of lack of risk, and HR departments only focusing on individual development rather than team performance. He also attacks the hype about ‘being a team player’, often a contradiction in terms as it tends to overshadow the primary skills a team player would need to bring to the team in order for it to do well.

I think this is all very true and valuable – yet I wasn’t completely satisfied. It didn’t give me clarity on how we could create an environment for better teams.

I’ve been part of countless teams throughout my life, from symphony orchestras to senior management teams to women’s groups. I’ve probably experienced every possible situation: the ecstasy of performing far beyond the capability of any one individual, keeping my head down to stay out of trouble, being bored to death by endless meetings, being asked to leave because I didn’t keep up with my peers, and the most spectacular one was being fired by a team-hugging organisation for providing my team with correct data (I had ‘hurt’ them with our disastrous financial data).

What I have learned from this is two things: a well-functioning team is complex, while striving towards one simple, unifying purpose.

This sounds simplistic, but I don’t think we usually set up teams with this in mind. For a team to function well it needs to fully integrate all dimensions of existence: the inner, the outer, the individual and the collective.

First of all: What is our purpose? Are we setting out to do something that each team member can be fully behind, whatever their level of engagement and whatever their personal interpretations?

Once this is clear, what are the dimensions of our existence that need to be integrated to align us with that purpose? What is the (interior) attitude and wisdom I bring to the team? What (exterior) skills do I bring? What is our function in the collective and what are our deliverables? And what is the culture between us and the collective spirit we want to deliver our mission in?

Simply being aware of this can transform a team. Why? Because what happens is a fundamental shift from having our locus in ourselves, to having it in that which we are here to do – our purpose. We move from changing (or moulding) the individual, to calibrating all dimensions so we will be an integrated whole and perform the best we can.

That means the individual can be who they are, but the ego has been fired. Individual needs will be met through the collective purpose, while the collective outcome will be determined by our unique individual contributions.

I’m not speaking about something Utopian. We are used to setting our standards so low! What I see as the main downfall of Western Capitalism is the deep-seated assumption that we can only operate from ego, or in other words, have to submit to the reality of competition, half-heartedness, personal ambition and self-interest.

I think this is a gross under-estimation of who we are and what we are capable of. If we are capable of dreaming up ideals, setting goals, and fighting a noble struggle to turn them into reality, why wouldn’t we fulfil that promise? Why would we ever suffer our own and each other’s egoic motives at all?

Even putting your focus on this for a few minutes reveals how superficial the idea of a ‘team player’ is. It is time we get up from our slumber and reach for the higher fruits.