Project Teams and Wordless Efficiency?

 

I must admit, I am a mediocre fly-fisherman, but I do enjoy occasionally thrashing about in the stream, river, or occasionally one of the high mountain lakes that dot the Uintah mountains of Utah. Since the incident with my shoulder a few months ago, I have spent what little off time I have tying flies or reading. A week or so ago, I picked up an anthology of one of my favorite outdoors authors, Death, Taxes, and Leaky Waders by John Gierach. Some of the stories I've read before, but they're still enjoyable to read when it's difficult to cast a fly-rod, pull the starter on the lawn mower, or otherwise be very useful with a recuperating right arm.

In one of his essays, he describes setting up camp with a long-time fishing partner: "We now set up camps with such wordless efficiency that spectators sometimes think we're mad at each other. I've learned a lot from him, from the nuts and bolts of fly tying and casting—both of which he's damned good at—to philosophy. It was while fishing with A.K. that I discovered you could tell the plain truth about fly-fishing and still be a humorist."

I seem to spend a lot more time with my team at work than I do with my fly-rod—or even my wife for that matter, yet we haven't reached the point where we are able to work together with "wordless efficiency." It's probably because project teams change, people come and go, and we are often so "heads-down" and hard at it that we don't pay much attention to what other members of the team are doing or how they are doing it at any given time.

Several years ago I read that the best air force in the world (at that time) was the U.S. Air National Guard. Surprised? I was. However, what made them such a powerful fighting force really makes sense:

1. Most (if not all) of them were combat veterans
2. They had worked together for a long time (in some cases almost 20 years)
3. They could anticipate each others reactions to different situations because they had shared so many of the same experiences together

The author suggested that most fighter squadrons don't fly together for years at a time. Whether it's the Air Force or they Navy, fighter jocks tend to be shipped around from squadron to squadron (or team to team for that matter). I don't think it says anything about their skill level that the old farts in the National Guard are so good, they just haven't shared as many of the same experiences together.

As I think about it, it's probably unreasonable to expect project teams to "wordlessly" go through the day getting stuff done. I suppose that's why it's so important that as project leaders, we step away from the computer once an a while to actually communicate with the members of our project teams. I know that I would much rather have a face-to-face discussion about upcoming projects and assignments before I start seeing tasks dropped into my projects list. I don't think I'm all that unique. After all, one of the most important skills a good project leader has is the ability to communicate and facilitate effective collaboration.

What do you do to force yourself away from the computer and out with the team?