What is it that Makes a Team Work?

 

Vince Lombardi once said, "Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."

I don't think there's any question that professional football coach Vince Lombardi became a national symbol of single-minded determination. During the nine years he served as coach of the Green Bay Packers, he led the team to five NFL championships and victory in the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi also said, "Once you have established the goal you want and the price you're willing to pay, you can ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure and the temporary failures."

I think Lombardi's advice is relevant to how we lead project teams. Earlier this week, I read an article written by Ken and Scott Blanchard for FastCompany where they suggest, "Management is about organizing people's work so that people are actually doing things to help the department, or the organization as a whole, accomplish set goals. One of the important distinctions you need to address as a manager is whether you are sharing with people the actual results you expect them to produce, rather than just the activities they need to engage in."

Sometimes it's easy to make assignments and get people busy without sharing the "why?" regarding what they're doing. As a father, I quickly found out that "because I said so" was never a good motivator for my children. It doesn't work in the office or on a project team any better. Yet there are many organizations that still take that approach.

"An aligned purpose and clear expectations are the foundation of an effective work environment," write Ken and Scott Blanchard. "All good performance starts with clear goals. Make sure that your people's work is on track and on target. Connect the dots between individual roles and the goals of the organization. When people see the connection, they get a lot of energy out of work. They feel the importance, dignity, and meaning in their job. It's good for you and it's good for them."

Over the course of my career, I have come to appreciate that this is true. When I work with my own team, we sit down together and discuss the reasons why we are doing what we're doing. Most people want to contribute to something meaningful. However, if your project teams don't understand how their contributions relate to meaningful corporate objectives, it becomes difficult for them to "...ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure and the temporary failures."

Like Lombardi, I believe it's the individual contributions to the group effort that make projects successful. As a project leader, what are you doing to make sure that everyone on your project team understands the value of their contribution to the meaningful goals and objectives of your organization?