One Team One Impact

Businesses that operate as a collection of fragmented teams make the mistake of missing out on the power and positive impact of a One Team approach. You may recognise the symptoms: teams fighting against each other to protect their reputation and standing within your business. The team perceived to have the least power can often become the organisational scapegoat. A “them and us” culture develops and walls are built, reducing oxygen in the conversation and stifling creativity and innovation. Soon, the entire business suffers. Teams that act in isolation – or even rivalry – cannot create the cohesiveness that allows for peak performance. Just as every person is a part of an individual team’s success, on a macro level every team should be part of the success system of an organisation.

Taylor Clarke is a full-service organisation effectiveness and development consultancy whose vision is to release the potential locked up in teams, leaders and people. It recently worked with a large commercial business whose teams operated in frozen silos. There was a huge waste of energy, with unnecessary misunderstandings and at times out-and-out aggression between departments. Individuals had become conditioned to protect their team and scaffold up their own interests, believing that they would be denigrated and discounted by admitting failing or even making a mistake.

The solution

Taylor Clarke worked with the client to cultivate a One Team approach. This allows the organisational ecosystem to understand how it needs each facet of the system to flourish and grow and be fruitful. It sounds simple and obvious. Indeed, many organisations say they operate in this manner, but scratch the surface and all too often the truth leaks out with the emergence of phrases such as, “They did this/that”, “If only they did their job better” and “That’s their job, not mine”. The consequences of such thinking are real and commercially painful. And crucially, if the problem is not dealt with swiftly, it becomes accepted and the norm. The worst behaviour becomes the benchmark for your culture.

Setting some clear individual team expectations is a starter. What if we said things like, “We got this wrong”, rather than, “They made a mistake”, no matter where the error originated? When a One Team approach is at the foundations of a culture, you will see the spring of curiosity and the appreciation of others. Teams can operate as collaborators rather than as persecutors or interrogators.

It’s good to talk

So how to protect your business from this gnarly performance destroyer that creeps in like a silent assassin? Firstly, notice when it happens. Second, talk about One Team at every opportunity you have, signalling that this is the desired destination. Common purpose and team-to-team discussions are vital. Who would not want to work in an organisation that supports true collaboration rather than feeling strangled at every turn?

As leaders and managers, do not collude with “them and us” language. Neutralise the negativity with simple phrases that reinforce a One Team approach. Build on the premise of spotting it and speaking about it. Practical interventions that work incredibly well are structured team coaching sessions. Often, it is discovered that the challenges each team faces are experienced throughout the organisation.

Culture shift

When Taylor Clarke worked on a workplace culture project that started with a One Team approach, team coaching was a principal element in the successful shift in culture, performance and inter-team understanding and appreciation. It became apparent that individual teams didn’t look at things from another team’s perspective. They were blinkered to their own contribution to the problems they had. Once they had an opportunity to see things from a different stance, the ice started to thaw and they realised they had more in common with each other than what divided them.

Creating inter-departmental teams in a team coaching context can have a dramatic and powerful impact. When departmental managers “have each others’ backs” it is as satisfying for the team members as a glass of cold water to a thirsty person in a desert. Being consistent and propagating this concept into teams has a seismic impact. It slowly changes the culture, improves communication and understanding and ultimately performance, creating a much happier, more productive culture.

Get in touch to find out how Taylor Clarke can get your workforce pulling together.

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Written by Bonnie Clarke, CEO

Bonnie is driven by making a positive impact on places of work, for the people who work there. She values led and is committed to working with purpose and compassion to unlock potential in individuals and teams. She is passionate about the psychology of human communication and frequently speaks at conferences on a range of topics including: