Rowing on the River

For years now I have worked with different business teams to support their development. The concepts of "teamwork" are pretty standard yet there are thousands of books and articles, each one espousing the best list of ingredients that make for the most successful and productive team. Things like having a common goal, diverse skills and good communication are always on that list. If achieving high performance as a team were so easy, there wouldn't be so many books about it and a good chunk of consultant business would dry up. So why is it so hard?

As a result of a recent experience rowing in an 8 seat crew shell, clearly what gets in the way of team success even after all the right ingredients are in play, is the individual. In simple terms our egos and our minds get in the way of team success. In the business world, we have been trained to look out for ourselves; after all, annual performance appraisal is about rewarding individual performance. Our success is based largely on how well we as individuals think, analyze and communicate. Winning is very individualized.

Put eight high performing and very successful business people who have never rowed before into the same boat and it is a marvel to behold. You can't charm your way to winning or over complicate the strategy to win. The physically strongest person may turn out to be your weakest link. You can try to put your individual force behind your oar but one person's brute force will not win the race. If eight people row at their individual best...well the boat goes nowhere and you have 8 individuals who are exhausted and frustrated.

I found that I needed to let go of my own ego... including that need to be the best thinker, the best rower. Once I recognized that proving my strength was pointless and that I needed to be one not only with the person in front of me but also with the oar, I could feel the boat moving smoothly through the water. It was not about me - it was about the team.

My team won the race that day. We lived up to our common goal: to win...as one. We felt the "sweet spot" of the rowing experience; knowing that is was easier to row once you let go.

What will it take to get teams at work to hit their "sweet spot?"