06/04/16 12:07
I was at the beach the other day and watched with interest as a few blokes worked together to pull in and attach their fishing boat to the boat trailer, which had been backed into the water by one of them in his car.
The process was not straight forward, requiring some skill on the part of the driver and some strength and co-ordination on the part of the others. This was clearly a case of TEAMWORK in action. It got me thinking again about what was required for a bunch of people working or playing together, to be an effective team.
The first thing is a clearly communicated and mutually bought into objective or goal - a common purpose.
Secondly - Clearly known and understood individual roles, for which the team members have the ability and training.
Thirdly - Coordination, so that people are in the right place at the right time doing the right things. This could be achieved by the team themselves if they are fully experienced and in tune with each other and if 1 and 2 are in place. However in most instances this requires that one of them is in a leadership role.
In the case of the friends with the boat, the task would have been achieved more efficiently if all 3 requirements were in place. Having said that, they clearly had a common purpose, fighting the waves to get the boat onto the trailer. They looked tired. I hope they were able to celebrate success with some freshly grilled fish.
What are your views on the characteristics of effective teams?
Tags: Teamwork
15/10/10 13:13
The trapped Chilean miners are now free and people throughout the world rejoice with them and their families and the Chilean people. Stories have emerged of courage, perseverance, personal anguish, faith and hope, leadership and teamwork. No doubt many articles and books will be written, documents and films made. 70 days is a long time to be trapped underground, it’s a unique story to be told.
It’s often the stories, the practical examples that we remember long after we have forgotten the facts and figures when attending a training course. I imagine we will have lots to learn from the miners about leadership and teamwork. As in any team there would have been shared leadership according to the individual strengths of the men. Some would excel in initiating activities to keep up morale, others stimulating physical activities, others looking towards peoples spiritual needs etc. And there would be concepts such as shared purpose, goals, celebrating success. I look forward to hearing the stories and discussing the learnings with delegates to our supervisor and teamwork courses.
Tags: supervisor training, Teamwork
