11 March 2005
Newsletter
Hi ,
Welcome to the first ever Intentional Success newsletter!
You probably know by now that all the usual canned team activities and workshops only train participants in how to be good at team activities and workshops! Not much really translates to actual changes in teamwork on the job.
But what if there was a way to get your group to go from "mean team" to "dream team" in 6 weeks or less?
At ITC, we've discovered an effective, evidence-based process for getting poorly performing groups airborne, and for helping ordinary teams to reach the upper atmosphere of high creativity and output. We call this process Hi-Flow Teaming.
By providing learning in real time while actual work is being done team members discover the feeling of teamwork and how to manage process to achieve task. Research shows this is what most distinguishes high performance teams from poor performers.
So, to get your team "airborne" you first need to manage the fundamentals of flight: Thrust, flow, and turbulence.
Thrust
The jet engine of a team is purpose. There must be a worthy purpose, something that everyone in the team aspires to achieve. And there must be clear performance goals.
Fuel comes from the complementary expertise of each team member, willingly shared. Power depends on how the team utilizes this fuel for task accomplishment.
Flow
Lift occurs with air flow across the team's "wing". Greatest lift occurs when:
- There is a sense of being challenged to the limit of your skill, yet without distress,
- High value is placed on creativity and excellence,
- There is clarity around what needs to be done,
- Information not directly relevant is limited,
- There is constant and timely feedback on the team's performance (like some kind of instrument panel),
- The team has a mandate to control their own actions and outcomes,
- Fear of failure or criticism is dampened,
- You're so caught up in the task that you lose track of time,
- The activities of the team become rewarding in themselves, and
- Co-creating together is a real joy!
Turbulence
However, teams often fly into bad weather. An "air pocket" is where flow across the wing is unexpectedly disturbed causing turbulence and a sudden drop in lift. But even flying in good weather creates turbulence. You know the team is losing altitude when:
- Nobody really understands the context, goals, or rewards of the team,
- Relationships are "choppy" with enduring conflict,
- People say one thing and do the opposite,
- There are threats, accusations, and shifting alliances, and
- You feel a mismatch between your beliefs, values, and intentions, and those of the team.
Hi-Flow Teaming
Most team members tend to focus only on the technical aspects of the task and when conflicts arise they feel frustrated. Without knowing how to properly communicate what they're observing about the team or how they're feeling about it, the team starts to feel "turbulent" and quickly descends into chaos or gets lost in the clouds!
The key to Hi-Flow Teaming is to give team members a "language" for describing what they're experiencing within themselves while doing real work collectively. This is how to realize the power of teams for higher creative flight and longer productive distance!
, I hope you enjoyed this first edition of the Intentional Success newsletter. In the next edition I'll tell you How to Talk to Toads in the workplace!
Keep your intentions clear,
Peter Webb
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