IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS AND TEAMS

Whenever facilitating leadership development with sport teams, one of the learning objectives has always been to develop an understanding of the difference between Groups and Teams. 

The one difference I have always stressed is that members of a team share a common goal. However the article below offers some other important differences.  “What’s the value” you ask? Do you work as part of a team?  If so, does your team share the qualities of a team that are listed in the article below?  As mentioned in the article the terms Group and Team are used interchangeably, but not always correctly.  If a team is what you want, then work toward that goal using the info below from Gordon Curphy author of “The Rocket Model”.  Enjoy!  MOVE!

The terms team and group are often used interchangeably, but there are some differences between these two concepts.  We define teams as consisting of three to 25 people who:

• Work toward a common set of goals
• Work jointly
• Share common leadership
• Hold joint accountability for performance
• See themselves as being part of a team with common goals and shared fates

This definition of teams is somewhat different from the usual definition in three ways. First, according to this definition dyads are not teams. The dynamics between any two people are much simpler than those between three or more people. Second, this definition assumes people share a “mental model” about the teams to which they belong. In other words they identify themselves as being members of a particular team and tend to have common interpretations of events. And third, teams tend to be fairly small—usually less than 25 people. Larger groups may call themselves teams (such as a professional football team) but in reality they are usually groups made up of various sub-teams (the offensive unit, defensive unit, etc.). Common examples of teams might include commercial aircrews, crews of firefighters, United States Army platoons, product development teams, manufacturing shift workers, fast food restaurant crews, research and development teams, and soccer teams. The individuals in each of these examples share common goals, depend on the help of the other team members, share leadership and common fates, and most importantly, identify with their teams.

Groups are clusters of people that do not share these five characteristics to the same extent as teams. A regional sales team responsible for selling insurance and other financial services to local citizens would be a prototypical group. In this so-called team, each sales rep has individual revenue and profitability goals for an assigned geographic territory. An individual’s ability to achieve these goals does not depend on what the other sales reps do; instead it is completely dependent upon that person’s own performance. Although individual efforts contribute towards the region’s revenues and profitability goals, the region’s performance is merely the sum of each rep’s individual efforts. If a regional sales manager wants to increase revenues, then he or she could add reps, expand territories, increase prices, or change the product mix; requiring the reps to work more closely together would have little if any impact on the region’s financial performance.

This is not to say that leaders play passive roles when managing groups. In fact, far from it! Leaders in charge of groups need to ensure that the members operate under the same assumptions regarding customers and competitors, possess the right skills, stay motivated, share information, have adequate resources, achieve their individual goals, and get differences quickly resolved. Contrast these leadership demands with those of a head surgeon of a cardiovascular surgical team. The head surgeon would have many of these same leadership responsibilities but would also needs to ensure that their fellow surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants shared common goals, cooperated, used common work processes, had seamless task handoffs, shared a common fate, and identified with the team as they put stents and pacemakers into patients. Thus, the leadership demands on people in charge of teams are more extensive (and consequently more difficult to master) than the demands on people in charge of groups.  

PHIL JACKSON'S 11 PRINCIPLES OF MINDFUL LEADERSHIP

Phil Jackson leadership approach was inspiration for me to pursue my Masters in Leadership Studies.  Thank you to coach Chris Oliver for sharing "Phil Jackson's 11 Principles of Mindful Leadership". 

Phil Jackson, considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association, has won 11 titles as a coach. The most in NBA history. Eleven Rings is a memoir that, for me, is more about leadership and relationships than basketball.

Jackson's principles are worth taking a look at. They support the idea that a leader's job is to build leaders at all levels. You could take back to your organization and put into practice today any one of the following 11 principles:

1. Lead From the Inside Out. Avoid fads. Lead from who you are. "As time went by, I discovered that the more I spoke from the heart, the more players could hear me and benefit from what I gleaned."

2. Bench the Ego. "The more I tried to exert power directly, the less powerful I became. I learned to dial back my ego and distribute power as widely as possible without surrendering final authority. Paradoxically, this approach strengthened my effectiveness because it freed me to focus on my job as keeper of the team's vision.

"Some coaches insist on having the last word, but I always tried to foster an environment in which everyone played a leadership role, from the most unschooled rookie to the veteran superstar. If your primary objective is to bring the team into a state of harmony and oneness, it doesn't make sense for you to rigidly impose your authority."

3. Let Each Player Discover His Own Destiny. Jackson's goal wasn't to provide all of the answers. "I've always been interested in getting players to think for themselves so that they can make difficult decisions in the heat of battle."

"My approach was always to relate to each player as a whole person, not just a cog in the basketball machine. That meant pushing him to discover what distinct qualities he could bring to the game beyond taking shots and making passes. How much courage did he have? Or resilience? What about character under fire? Many players I've coached didn't look special on paper, but in the process of creating a role for themselves they grew into formidable champions."

4. The Road to Freedom is a Beautiful System. Similar to the principles used to foster greater creativity and innovation in an organization, Jackson used a system known as the triangle offense. "What attracted me to the triangle was the way it empowers the players, offering each one a vital role to play as well as a high level of creativity within a clear, well-defined structure."

5. Turn the Mundane into the Sacred. Leaders take note. Jackson writes, "As I see it, my job as coach was to make something meaningful out of one of the most mundane activities on the planet: Playing pro basketball." He incorporated meditation into his team's practices. "I wanted to give players something besides X's and O's to focus on. What's more, we often invented rituals of our own to infuse practices with a sense of the sacred."

6. One Breath = One Mind. Players "often have to make split-second decisions under enormous pressure. I discovered that when I had the players sit in silence, breathing together in sync, it helped align them on a nonverbal level far more effectively than words. One breath equals one mind."

"If you place too many restrictions on players, they'll spend an inordinate amount of time trying to buck the system. Like all of us, they need a certain degree of structure in their lives, but they also require enough latitude to express themselves creatively."

7. The Key to Success is Compassion. "Now, 'compassion' is not a word often bandied about in locker rooms. But I've found that a few kind, thoughtful words can have a strong transformative effect on relationships, even with the toughest men in the room." Compassion breaks down barriers among people.

8. Keep Your Eye on the Spirit, Not on the Scoreboard. When a player is "playing within his natural abilities, he activates a higher potential for the team that transcends his own limitations and helps his teammates transcend theirs. When this happens, the whole begins to add up to more than the sum of its parts." He adds, "Most coaches get tied up in knots worrying about tactics, but I preferred to focus my attention on whether the players were moving together in a spirited way."

9. Sometimes You Have to Pull Out the Big Stick. Sometimes Jackson used "tricks to wake players up and raise their level of consciousness….Not because I want to make their lives miserable but because I want to prepare them for the inevitable chaos that occurs the minute they step onto a basketball court."

10. When in Doubt, Do Nothing. "Basketball is an action sport, and most people involved in it are high-energy individuals who love to do something—anything—to solve problems. However, there are occasions when the best solution is to do absolutely nothing….I subscribe to the philosophy of the late Satchel Paige, who said, 'Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.'"

11. Forget the Ring. We all hate losing. "And yet as coach, I know that being fixated on winning (or more likely, not losing) is counterproductive, especially when it causes you to lose control of your emotions. What's more, obsessing about winning is a loser's game: The most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome."

Jackson concludes with: "What matters most is playing the game the right way and having the courage to grow, as human beings as well as basketball players. When you do that, the ring takes care of itself." 

THOSE WHO WERE NEVER DEFEATED

I believe leadership is a tool and vehicle to support and drive self-actualization.  Becoming the best you, you can be.  This requires faith.  Not faith in a god or other people, but faith in yourself.  Faith that you can do.  Faith that you can achieve your goals or at least learn valuable life altering lessons from any failures.  The need for certainty kills faith. This need disuades people from their Personal Legend to a linear life of certainty, mediocrity and eventually, "what if?" Believe in yourself.  Have faith and step in the arena of your life. Real courage is putting yourself in a position to succeed, or fail and believing that regardless of the outcome, I am enough and I tried.  Paulo Coelho hits the ball out of the park with the piece below. 
Enjoy! MOVE!

By Paulo Coelho.

Those who were never defeated seem happy and superior, masters of a truth they never had to lift a finger to achieve.
They are always on the side of the strong. They’re like hyenas, who only eat the leavings of lions.

They teach their children: ‘Don’t get involved in conflicts, you’ll only lose. Keep your doubts to yourself and you’ll never have any problems.
If someone attacks you, don’t get offended or demean yourself by hitting back. There are more important things in life.’

In the silence of the night, they fight their imaginary battles: their unrealised dreams, the injustices to which they turned a blind eye, the moments of cowardice they managed to conceal from other people – but not from themselves – and the love that crossed their path with a sparkle in its eyes, the love God had intended for them, and which they lacked the courage to embrace.

And they promise themselves: ‘Tomorrow will be different.’

But tomorrow comes and the paralysing question surfaces in their mind: ‘What if it doesn’t work out?’

And so they do nothing.
Woe to those who were never beaten! They will never be winners in this life.

HOW TO THINK LIKE A LEADER

I came across this article by Jack and Suzy Welch entitled "How To Think Like a Leader".  Without saying as much, the article touches on a "Servant Leadership" approach.  With this approach, the leader serves the followers.  As mentioned in the article, "when you become a leader, success is all about growing others".  Read, enjoy and MOVE!

By Jack and Suzy Welch.

Too often, people who are promoted to their first leadership position miss the point. And that failure probably trips up careers more than any other reason.

Being a leader changes everything. Before you are a leader, success is all about you. It’s about your performance. Your contributions. It’s about raising your hand, getting called on, and delivering the right answer.

When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. It’s about making the people who work for you smarter, bigger, and bolder. Nothing you do anymore as an individual matters except how you nurture and support your team and help its members increase their self-confidence. Yes, you will get your share of attention from up above—but only inasmuch as your team wins. Put another way: Your success as a leader will come not from what you do but from the reflected glory of your team.

Now, that’s a big transition—and no question, it’s hard. Being a leader basically requires a whole new mindset. You’re no longer constantly thinking “How can I stand out?” but “How can I help my people do their jobs better?” Sometimes that requires undoing a couple of decades of momentum. After all, you probably spent your entire life, starting in grade school and continuing through your last job, as a contributor who excels at “raising your hand.” But the good news is that you’ve been promoted because someone above you believes you have the stuff to make the leap from star player to successful coach.

What does that leap actually involve? First and foremost, you need to actively mentor your people. Exude positive energy about life and the work that you are doing together, show optimism about the future, and care. Care passionately about each person’s progress. Give your people feedback—not just at yearend and midyear performance reviews but after meetings, presentations, or visits to clients. Make every significant event a teaching moment. Discuss what you like about what they are doing and ways that they can improve. Your energy will energize those around you.

And there’s no need for sugarcoating. Use total candor, which happens, incidentally, to be one of the defining characteristics of effective leaders.

Through it all, never forget—you’re a leader now. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about them.

GRATITUDE ATTITUDE

There was a big storm last week that caused a power failure and flash flood in our neighborhood. The power failure shut our sump pump down during the flood. The result was a flooded basement. To put things in perspective, our basement is our den. It is a play area for the children, the location of our television, laundry room, storage, 2^nd washroom, furnace and all the children’s toys. Anything that came in contact with the flood water was deemed contaminated to second degree and had to be removed from the basement. This includes the baseboards, dry wall, flooring, furniture, toys, bookshelves, entertainment unit and electronics. Fortunately all the damage and contents are covered by insurance.

When events like this occur it is very easy to focus on what we don’t have. “I don’t have use of my basement, the television”, etc. This is a focus on scarcity, what we don’t have. Brene Brown qualifies a scarcity attitude as one where we don’t have enough. In our case it would be easy to get caught up in not having enough space, enough television to watch, enough toys to play with, you get the picture. This event gave me and the family an excellent opportunity to practice our “Gratitude Attitude” where we focus on what we are grateful for. We are grateful for having two dry floors to live on, our bedrooms and all their contents, our kitchen, our air conditioning and most of all our health and being together as a family for support.

A“scarcity attitude” can lead to a slippery slope of going from I don’t have enough stuff, to I don’t have enough time, I don’t have enough money. Finally the slope gets more pitch as we can start to believe that we are not enough. This is where shame lives and it deteriorates to “I’m not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not smart enough. A “gratitude attitude” puts us in a place where we appreciate and are grateful for what we do have, who we are and what we have achieved each day. We’re grateful for the resources (money, time) to achieve the things we were able to do and understand that everything else will just have to wait. You’re grateful for who you are and what you’ve been able to achieve. You may still want to strive for self-improvement, self-actualization and other forms growth, but most important we always believe that we are enough.

Finally it’s one thing to have a “gratitude attitude”, but the attitude on it’s own is only rhetoric without practice. Practice means actually living out that attitude daily. Brene Brown offers some awesome suggestions for practicing your gratitude attitude in the absence of basement floods. I have a gratitude journal, got the idea from Oprah Winfrey 10 or 15 years ago. Every night before I go to bed I make a list of 3 things for which I am grateful. We even have our kids practicing gratitude when they say their prayers at night, but saying 3 things for which they are grateful. Other ideas are creating a gratitude jar, where each day you write a small note of things for which you are grateful and keep them in the jar.

 

MOVE!