Last week a friend posted an article on team collaboration that I loved because it is right on track with what I see in my work. According to author Carlos Valdes-Dapena, formerly of Mars, Inc, “..most of what we — and others — thought about team building was wrong…We learned that quality collaboration does not begin with relationships and trust; it starts with a focus on individual motivation.” Basically, team offsites don’t work because they focus on relationship and trust first. You have to start with the individuals on the team.
It points to what I have observed for some time — that we’ve taken “There’s no I in team!” to its natural limit. In an effort to put team first, we’ve stepped over individuals, and that can leave people feeling disconnected, which can make them disengage.
When I work with teams, we start with the individuals and go outward. It’s what I call “ I to the 4th Power.” :
- Impact: Link your strengths to their impact on colleagues, team, organization and results
- Influence: How do individuals and teams negotiate their environment so that they feel a better sense of control
- Initiative: There is tremendous learning on the other side of action. To get there requires taking some risk and having resilience
- Innovation: Here’s where trust comes in. When team members feel seen and safe, they are more eager to engage and collaborate
When each team member feels confident and has a sense of their own purpose, plus the team’s purpose, they are able to solve much bigger challenges. It’s a shift. And yes, the more linear, “Just tell me what to do and let me do it,” can feel a lot easier. But consider what the article states. By shifting their approach, Mars China grew their business by 33% after missing growth targets for eight years. Results like those are certainly worth the effort.
To learn about bringing the I to the 4th Power method to your organization, contact us here.