A team is a living organism, each one unique from the rest. Each made up of different people. Of different nationalities, backgrounds and experiences.No truer does this apply than in my region – particularly the Gulf, a melting pot of more than 200 different nationalities with their own cultural values. Each with their different ways of getting a clear picture through the white noise that makes up the dynamics of a diversified team.
Certainly, such diversity also has the potential of creating a truly great team. Perhaps the million dollar question is: How can you bring out the skill and innovation from every individual – and motivate the team towards a cohesive overall goal?
As is so often the case in this life of trial and error, I found out the hard way. While working at a large oil and gas company some years back I was asked to lead a sizeable team, with very much the diversity I’ve described above. Within four months it became clear that I wasn’t bringing the team even close to achieving its goals, so I asked a mentor of mine to spend some time with us.
After spending half a day observing the team in action, he asked me, “Do you know how to sail?” I replied that I didn’t. “Meet me at 7am tomorrow,” he said – giving me directions to our early morning rendezvous.
I was there at the agreed time and my mentor pointed to a small dingy-type sailboat. “Here it is,” he said. “Now go and sail.”
“But I’ve never sailed before – I don’t know how,” I replied. “Do you want me to teach you?” he asked. “Well, I’m not very confident in the water and the whole prospect of this is making me kind of nervous,” I admitted.
“You can ask me anything you want about the boat and I’ll tell you,” he said. So I asked away – what is this called? What does this do? How does that work? But he answered every question either sarcastically, too fast for me to grasp or pronounced in a way that I was unable to understand.
After several questions which had left me none the wiser, he said, “OK then, are you ready to sail?” I didn’t dare tell him, but I was far from ready – the whole prospect was beginning to terrify the life out of me, as I truly still had no clue what to do with this alien craft. “To make it easier for you, I’ll sit behind in the back and guide you,” he offered.
We set sail, when suddenly he shouted, “Look out, the boom’s coming across – duck now. Sorry I’d forgotten to mention that.” I ducked. The boom narrowly missed my head and from knocking me clean out of the boat.
From then on, it seemed like everything was happening at the same time – one event after the other, while he barked a constant series of instructions at me. I flailed around with no idea what I was doing from one task to the next. What was just a few minutes seemed like aneternity – until to my enormous relief we sailed back into the harbor My ordeal had come to an end.
Back on terra firma, my mentor asked me how I had enjoyed my first experience on the ocean waves. “I didn’t,” I anxiously replied. “You knew I was nervous, but you gave me no proper instruction, barked at me, spoke to fast for me to understand – and made it impossible for me to function.”
He said simply, “So how do you think your team feels?”
It was then that the penny really dropped. Far more than a simple moment of realisation, it felt like someone had dropped a big rock on my head. Towards my own team I had been intimidating. I had barked fast instructions in my own accent, as I paced down the corridor to people from different nationalities and cultures to mine, expecting them to understand immediately – and paying no tolerance to why they might not. All of this, without paying any attention to coaching and mentoring my team members.
In short, I had been asking them to go sailing when they didn’t know how to sail. I had been trying to lead my team like a military commander. Worse, I’d been a bad one. No-one had any real idea what I expected of them.
There is of course a reason why a team is called as such – rather than firm military order it needs a coach – coordinating, mentoring and encouraging a culture of ideas. A good coach ensures that every team member is clear on the end goal, what they need to do to get there and that they’re pulling in the same direction. He/she brings out each member’s distinct role within the team dynamic, while keeping all aware of what other team members are doing. Through this the team becomes equipped with the right tools to make it to the end of the journey.
I learned that I needed to appreciate that a team is made of individuals Each has there own way of learning, responding, receiving information and ways to motivate them. Each team member more often than not has a skill to support the success of the team. I realized that it was up to me, not them to understand the dynamics and how to make this team exceed its own potential.
I started to pay attention and always ask myself; Am I taking them sailing for the 1 time or have a prepared them to sail the rough waters ahead?
So , I ask you is your team on a sail boat for the first time?
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