Workplace solutions | PressDemocrat.com.

The question, then, is how?

At Global Genesis, we believe that high performance teamwork is created through a number of different elements, depicted in a model we often use with teams to establish what that foundation might be. 

At the center of high performance teamwork – the kind of teamwork that yields synergistic results – is trust and respect.

First comes respect: the kind of respect that comes through observing action over time, values fulfilled, and competency revealed.

Then comes trust: trust that helps the un-discussable be discussed, that allows for an easy play and share of ideas, because everyone knows that their team mates have their back.

Creating respect and trust within a group of people is a dance; it comes over time and in response to how people approach the rest of the key elements for high performance teamwork.   In my experience, it is nearly impossible to enter a new group and automatically respect and trust those around you. It is sometimes even harder to do so with groups that have long histories.   Instead, it is through clarifying shared purpose and roles, clarifying roles, spending time to develop relationships, and fine-tuning teamwork that create room for trust and respect to grow.

So, how do we go about cultivating these other elements?  Below are some ideas for how we approach these essential pieces – and there are  many more.

1. Clarify shared purpose and vision. To help our clients clarify shared purpose and vision,  we like to refer to an article that Jim Collins and Jerry Porris wrote for the” target=”_blank”>Harvard Business Review on Change in 1998.  There they say that a practical, shared vision has the following components:

• Clear Purpose & Values
• Big, Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) and Strategies to accomplish those.

When we work with clients, we typically customize our approach to working with these two paths.  They compose the largest parts of many strategic plans, and are essential to high performance teamwork.

One of my favorite ways to help clients clarify their purpose and values as well as their goals and strategies is to have them interview each other using the Appreciative Inquiry Interviews. Here, you ask people to take about 20 minutes each to question each other on what is most inspiring to them about their organization, what they know that works based on experiences they may have had in other arenas, and what are the exciting possibilities that they see on the horizon for their team.  In those conversations, which are characterized by active, open listening and reflection, both people have an opportunity to Discover (the first step in the AI methodology) new ways of approaching the challenge of uncovering the purpose and vision for the organization.

This is later compared with what other partners have learned, and is funneled into creative ways of expressing and uncovering the most important possibilities at hand.

We might also do some strategy work with the group, helping the group to analyze trends and opportunities at play in the micro and macro world around them.

Ultimately, this leads us to uncovering and clarifying shared purpose and values, and articulating compelling stretch goals – ones that are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound) and that moreover will drive energy and direction for the group as it moves forward.

2. Clarifying Team Roles is the next essential component for creating high performance teamwork.  Particularly when a group is experiencing a lot of change, (adding a new member, losing a member, changing buildings, etc.) doing this well is fundamental to helping them move forward.  As facilitators, our job is to help them clarify expectations and the process for decision-making, as well as fine tune their handoffs and the flow of information.  Teams often get stuck here, creating an enormous amount of stress on the system and on themselves.

It can also be quite fun with a bit of creativity.  In one organization, I helped different departments give a “Day in the Life of…” skits; in another, I asked staff members to give short presentations that included the more prosaic information along with the lighter question of what cartoon character their position would be.

The key here is to help the team do more than simply read off their job description, by cuing them to share what kind of help they need from their team mates, what quirky things they should know about each other, and to find ways to raise the “dumb” questions that people have always wanted to know about their colleague’s work, but never dared to ask.

This leads well into the next key element, which is…

3. Developing team relationships. The quality of the relationships on a team are many times the key reason that a teambuilder is brought into an organization to begin with.   Relationships get stymied, stressed, side-tracked, or stifled for a number of reasons. Many times, clarifying purpose and roles can relieve this tension. The iconic book on negotiations and conflict, Getting to Yes, says that as negotiators, we must “focus on the problem, not the people.” Clarifying purpose and roles may address a number of the problems that can take a toll on the relationships of the team.

Ultimately, however, the success and quality of team relationships is determined by each member’s answers to the following questions:

1. Are you willing to commit to work on the relationship?
   
2. Are you willing to be accountable for your piece of the struggle in the relationship?
   
3. And, are you willing to take a wider view on the systemic stressor that might be affecting others in your team?

After everyone has answered those questions for themselves, the job of the teambuilder is to create a container for crucial conversations to occur, where the “Undiscussables” can be discussed with clear-sighted compassion and intelligence.

If the teambuilder has an opportunity to work with a group over time, they can help the group build their internal capacity to name those undiscussables, talk about them, and resolve them over time.  At Global Genesis, we might help the group build skills around managing the pressure of conflict, or work with them on inflammatory language, or help them question each others assumptions.

I work with one group who calls this “Identifying the Elephant in the Room.”  They usually begin these conversations, many times over lunch, as “There is an elephant in the room I would like to point out.”  They might then say how this is difficult for them or for the person who may be singled out, taking some of the sting out of the situation, and then proceed to clearly, kindly, and candidly describe what they are seeing in terms that make it clear it is their perspective.

This practice has improved tenfold their mode of operating together.

It also has a positive impact on the fourth key, Teamwork.

4. Building Teamwork. At Global Genesis, we define teamwork as “the ability to effectively, efficiently organize and coordinate action towards a common cause.” It is easy to see how these four keys to building high performance teamwork all fit into one another.  In a way, this statement summarizes the efforts of the last three keys.

At Global Genesis, we work on the “how” of teamwork.  This tends to be best done through experiential education: offering opportunities for the group to actually solve a problem together, and then to look at how they were doing, what they could improve, what they could build on.

My favorite place to work on this is at a challenge course or ropes course – a veritable paradise of opportunities to create physical, kinesthetic metaphors that have direct correlation to how we work in the workplace.  Here, we have an opportunity to see a group “in live action”, and perhaps dropping their guard a bit as we work through activities together that can then showcase the strengths and potential weaknesses of their teamwork.

However, without the good work done in clarifying purpose and roles, and clearing obstacles that might exist within the team relationships, a pure focus on teamwork can fall flat of the ultimate goal – to build a high performance team.

In my next article, I will discuss how all of this can be used to create the “dream green team.”

Eeegads, did the “teambuilder” say that?  Much of our work at Global Genesis is involved with building teams – it is a primary service, and one that our clients are happy to have help with.  We have helped all kinds of teams in our work – newly starting, re-organizing, functional but not performing, dysfunctional and temporarily performing, the works.

And, in that time,we have seen “working groups” who are missing their potential as  teams;  and vice-versa – “teams” who would have been better off as simple working groups, not saddled with the responsibility of the “team.”

So then, who should be a team?

To answer this question,  we first need to think about what makes a  team.  In our experience, we have to agree with what Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith in the The Wisdom of Teams (1993, 2003) stated: that two major differences between a team and a group is: their shared, common purpose and their mutual accountability. By mutual accountability, their personal success is tied into accomplishing the shared purpose of the group.

A working group may have a shared purpose, but their personal success is not necessarily tied into the success of the group.

Distinguishing itself from the “team” or “potential team” is the high-performance team.  As with the simple team, they share a purpose and a sense of mutual accountability.  However, the high-performance team achieves spectacular results because of its commitment to:

• A common purpose and goals and mutual accountability, AS WELL AS
• Each others’ personal success,
• Continuous learning, and
• Building trust and respect.

As you can imagine, these other pieces take considerable more time and energy.  To have not only your own success, but the success of others in your mind at all times, to keep yourself open to the learning that comes from feedback, experimentation, success and failure, and to constantly be attuned to building trust and respect requires hard work.  And, likewise, the rewards can yield tremendously – a “synergy” of ideas, energy, action, and results has been reported on again and again.

A nice summary of the possibilities is presented in “The Team Performance Curve”, also found in The Wisdom of Teams.

As you can see, working groups can achieve good results; one can see that in the forums and groups for sharing best practices in industry associations. 

The Team Performance Curve

However, where one really sees great performance impacts is with the the High Performance Team.

The question for each potential team and working group to consider is – are we getting the results that we want in the way that we are organizing ourselves?

If the answer is yes, we are getting the results we want, then it is about maintenance – ensuring that the foundation is solidly built and continues that way. In that case, putting the effort to become a team will create frustration and could stall the effectiveness of the original purpose if there isn’t good reason to do so.

However, if you are NOT getting the results you want to achieve, then it is time to consider what is missing:

1. Does the team have a clearly articulated and shared purpose and worthy goals?
2. Does everyone have a personal stake in the success of the effort?
3. Is it mutually accountable, and open to continuous learning?
4. And, does the group trust and respect one another, to accomplish their roles, to support their team members, to speak truth to one another in a kind and constructive way?

Assessing the strength of the team on these qualities of the high-performance team can help the team achieve its potential.

At Global Genesis, we are asked most often to help teams in all levels of effectiveness and impact achieve high-performance  by building skills and incorporating tools and practices.

Stay tuned for the next post, where I will discuss about how your team can build a foundation for high-performance teamwork.

I am excited to see this plan – it looks like it has hit the mark.  It has clearly identified the challenge  – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero within the next 10 years.  And it has clearly laid out options for solutions in Australia, using wind and solar.

May we all create plans that are as compelling, audacious, and relevant as this one.

Plan Seeks 100 Pct Renewable Energy in Australia in Ten Years | Climate | GreenBiz.com.

Collaborate only when necessary | WiserEarth Blog.

Networks that Work

It seems that, as organizations are grappling with an entirely different economic and social landscape, they are realizing that they must collaborate with organizations who at best they have been ignoring, or at worst fully competing with.

This book was a practical guide, laying out a framework for thinking about “Networks” (they point out that these networks are as often called “collaboratives” or “coalitions”).  They describe three different types of networks which require varying levels of risk on the part of their constituents:

1. Cooperative
2. Coordinating
3. Collaborating

Each varies in risk and complexity, (cooperative being the lowest, collaborating being the highest), and each serves a slightly different purpose.  The “collaborating network,” with its high risk, also lends itself to the highest impact outside of the group, and requires a commensurate amount of time, effort, and resource for it to be successful.

What I liked: I think what most impressed me about the book is the fact that even given its size (90 pages), it manages to clearly lay out the key elements needed for a successful network; how (and if!) to go about starting one; three ways to structure a network (Self-Governing, Lead Organization, and Network Manager); as well as directly answering many of the basic questions that come up when starting a multi-organization collaboration.

It also includes a robust appendix, with a sample network agreement or “charter”, a job description for a “network manager”, and several case studies that talk about both the successes and the challenges some networks faced in their process.

I also really appreciated their concluding summary of principles, found on page 61:

• Focus on shared purpose
• Start from pre-existing relationships
• Determine network member tolerance for risk
• Respect organizational and institutional autonomy
• Assure up-front commitment from key players
• Build new types of relationships
• Emphasize equal partnership
• Expect – even embrace – conflict, and develop practices for anticipating, surfacing, and resolving it
• Secure needed resources for operation without letting suppliers distort or diffuse the network purpose

This is a list and concepts that I can use when working with my own clients, and is accessible to inspire the busy executive who knows change is needed, and knows that collaboration is the only way to achieve their vision.

What I would change: This is one of those times when, in my effort to give a well-rounded book review, I have to scratch my head and say, what WOULD I change?  I really admire how the authors have addressed some of the fundamental pitfalls in such a clear and concise fashion.  And while I wouldn’t change their brevity, it does leave one with some questions like, “What is interest-based negotiating?”, “What are my references for dealing with conflict or power?” etc.  They list a few resources; and there are more that could be listed.

The nice thing, however – it leaves room for consultants like myself to explain what those ideas are.  Perhaps that is the ultimate intention – to encourage visionaries to get the kind of support they need to work through conflict, engage in good negotation, and run good meetings – support that external trainers and facilitators are skilled at assisting with.

A thank you to Paul Vandenveter and Myrna Mandell for writing this excellent booklet – and to Patricia and Jona for passing it along!

One of the panels discussed the topic of “Green Marketing in the Age of Transparency.“  Several innovateurs were represented, including Dara O Rourke from Goodguide.com (download the app if you haven’t already!), Wendy Cobdra at Earthsense, Chris Nelson of UL Environment, and Stephen Linaweaver of Green Order.  They said the fundamental challenge for companies who are attempting to integrate sustainability into their marketing plan (of which many can count themselves, now) is the consumer’s love-hate relationship with the companies that they rely on.

On the one hand, consumers want companies to step up and become sustainable.

On the other, they don’t believe that those organizations are doing what they say they are doing.

Further, while everyone knows what a sustainable company is NOT, no one has yet really agreed on what it IS.

This puts good intentioned organizations in a tough spot.  They are trying to do what is right, but at the best are blundering in what they say about their efforts, either sharing too much or raising expectations.  At the worst, they are confirming the suspicions of their customers, with incidences of fraud, exposes of poor environmental, labor, or quality practices, etc.  In an era of Enron, how DO we move forward?

To complicate matters – the “them” in this picture is “us.”  Many of the same people who work in these organizations are those people who distrust what the organizations do. Why that is, we can only speculate.  But it certainly makes for a complex picture.

Enter: the Authentically Sustainable Company.

If you read my last post on this topic, you will see I have noted a series of organizational realms – internally and externally, and at the individual and collective level.

In this era of rapid communication and what some may call “Radical Transparency,” companies who portray themselves must do so with integrity.  Here are some tips, both from the conference as well as my own thinking:

1. Define the Boundaries. Wendy Cobdra explained that many companies try to market themselves as a “sustainable company”, and then when something is leaked that doesn’t portray them in someone else’s brain as sustainable, they lose credibility.  If you are working on energy efficiency, then focus on that.  If your employees are satisfied and feel they are making a difference for their clients and their communities, let us know about that!
2. Strive for Integrity. Even with all of Wal-Mart’s hailed work around sustainability, the world is still deeply suspicious because of their labor practices (low-paying, low-benefits, etc.) and their tendency to squelch rather than enliven local commerce.  While they are still making truly astounding change, they will not make the kind of change that is needed.
3. Don’t sacrifice the good for the perfect. This is a reminder to all of us: a certain amount of compassion and encouragement is in order for all of us.  None of us has it right, yet, and as I have said in previous posts, inspiration is a fundamental avenue for change.

Now, having said all of that, we had a great conversation at the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy recently about B-Corporations – which certainly encourage a holistic perspective on what  sustainability in businesses could be.  In his presentation, founding member Christopher Peck showed a slide that summed it up very succinctly:

One Planet.  One Experiment. No Backup.

Which leads me to ask, is greenwashing even the real problem, if we can’t figure out how to create “one planet businesses?”

Do you know of any “One Planet Businesses?”

It also talks about the qualities that enable employees to respond effectively to “being left out”:

Five particular qualities enable employees and executives alike to minimize the threat response and instead enable the reward response. These five social qualities are status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness.

DailyGood: Managing with the Brain in Mind.

I use the Speed of Trust, by Stephen M. R. Covey (son of Stephen Covey) as a first recommendation for people who are looking to develop their leadership.  He focuses on how do individuals build “trustworthiness.”  Highly Recommended.
The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything

I also recommend Getting to Yes - a book on negotiations and conflict resolution.  It is the book that first introduced the “Win/Win” concept, but it really reminds you of how to deal with any situation where the stakes are high – whether you are overtly negotiating, in a conflict, or merely trying to give feedback and are seeking a change to match that feedback. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

Finally, a book on Time Management that I reread every year while doing my own planning: First Things First , a book by Stephen Covey (the father, this time, and the same person who wrote 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.) It goes from the largest perspective of what is your personal vision and mission, and then helps you map that down into your weekly and daily calendar. Nicely done, and my time management class is significantly influenced by this work.

On Management:

Another book that has been very helpful in helping managers understand styles and how to get the best from other styles is the 4-Dimensional Manager by Julie Straw. This book uses the DiSC assessment as its base, which has a situational perspective on styles, and talks about how to adapt your style to give feedback, solve problems, motivate, compliment, and delegate to other styles. Very useful. The 4 Dimensional Manager: DiSC Strategies for Managing Different People in the Best Ways (Inscape Guide)

Also highly recommended for leaders who are trying to instill Discipline in their staff Without Punishment (ie, helping employees see the business implications for their actions, and instilling a sense of focus and alignment) is the book by the same name, Discipline Without Punishment. My colleague Cathy, an HR Generalist and Manager for 20 years, uses the philosophies in this book with great success. Discipline Without Punishment: The Proven Strategy That Turns Problem Employees into Superior Performers

The Truth about Green Business

by Gil Friend, Natural Logic

is by Gil Friend, a colleague of ours for several years.  Gil Friend is charming, articulate, direct to the point of “terseness” (as he calls it in chapter – “Truth” 4), and remarkably clear-sighted.  His book is much like him, and will do an extraordinary amount to forward the sustainability movement – just as he himself has.

About the book: The Truth about Green Business lists 52 truths, in 12 categories ranging from the basics of “What is a Green Business”, to more technical issues such as marketing, design, procurement, on to Management, Finance, and even “Future-Proofing.”  Each “truth” is a 3-5 page chapter, and he encourages us to either read it straight through, or to jump around to “Truths” that suit us.  The book is really a web; each chapter points the reader to other chapters that further clarify certain points.

What I loved: His claim to “truths” is a correct one;  he summarizes underlying principles of green business, underlining them with examples occurring in mainstream business as well as from his own experience.  The most inspiring chapter to me was Truth 7: “How Green is Good Enough”, where he challenges his readers to set Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals – and “bet the farm” if necessary.

“Do Less Harm,” he writes, “simply isn’t good enough – not when you could thrive by regenerating and enriching the living systems on which our economy depends.” (p. 28)

I agree with Gil – there is so much more possibility  for action than to just “comply”, “do less harm,” etc.  He offers a new term (to me, anyway)  – “regulatory insulation” – his definition being “to deliver products and servics so good and processes so efficient that you don’t care what the regulators want because you’re years ahead of their wildest dreams.” (p. 32)  With ideas backed by solid business sense, he pushes his readers to think beyond just enough to what’s possible?

Finally I also really just liked the way the book felt; I wondered if there were some new material it used, as Natural Capitalism did in producing its “tree-less” book.

What I want more of: One of the reasons I enjoyed reading this is is because of its brevity and clarity; its “Choose Your Own Adventure” feeling, its apt examples,  its  internal cross-referencing and organization.   On the other side of the coin – the writing style tends towards brief, declarative sentences, lending itself well to the feeling of the “field guide”, but not to a sense of the “quest.”  Given that on the ground, sustainability can look very different from company to company, having case studies or more indepth examples would have been a helpful addition.    Perhaps I would have had a different sense if, there had been a section called “Tales from the Trenches,” or “Overcoming Obstacles.”

But that would have made the book much longer, and dilute the power that lies in brevity.  Perhaps another book?

In sum – I would highly recommend this book to any person who is thinking about “taking their business to the next step” – whether it is someone who is new or a veteran to  sustainable business.   It will answer questions many sustainability champions will ask at one point or another in their effort, and also give them a foundation of important principles of sustainability.  Great job, Gil, and looking forward to the next one!