Have a confession to make. This 5-part series on teamwork has been based on the research of Google's "Project Aristotle" with some of my own tidbits thrown in for fun! The story of the stonemasons is perfect for setting up the final aspect of highly effective teams.
A man was walking by a huge construction project. He came upon a worker and asked what he was doing. He replied, “I’m making a living”.
Curious, the man kept walking. Soon he came upon another worker and asked him what he was doing. This worker replied, “I’m doing the best job of stone cutting in the country”. Now he was getting somewhere.
He kept walking until coming upon a third worker. He asked him the same question. The third worker replied, "We’re building a cathedral!”
BOOM! That’s connection to the impact of the team! The first two workers replied with “I” and had relatively narrow views of their contributions. The third worker said “we” and knew exactly what the team was working on and why their efforts mattered. He communicated so much in just four words!
Once a vision is decided and work begins, team collaborations are strengthened when we know how everyone's contributions add to the collective efforts.
Action Items
- During each time together, relate the efforts back to how they will make a difference
- Relate the impact you hope to have back to how it serves people by reducing frustration or makes life easier for them
- Ask team members what their greatest system frustration is & how they would fix it
Bringing the Big 5 Together
When team members feel safe to be vulnerable with each other (Psychological Safety) an environment where behaviors show their trustworthiness (Dependability) can flourish. With these in place, meaningful communication can lead to understanding of everyone's roles and responsibilities (Structure & Clarity). Team relationships are further developed with the knowledge of how individuals personally connect to the work (Meaning) and the belief that they are making a difference in the world (Impact).
Hope you will take time to dive deeper into these and use them with your teams. The "human" skills you employ will make a huge difference in the experience you have together on any project. It's less about who is on the team and more about how the team works together!
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