Polishing antiques or turbo-charging conversations?

How are teams defined and developed where you work?

It struck me that I am a multi-role participant in a wide range of changing teams. Sometimes in a leading role, sometimes in another.

On-site teams, distributed teams, and virtual teams; intra-organisational teams, supply chain teams, and wider societal teams; fledgling teams, mature teams, and fading teams; great teams, not-yet-great teams, and maybe-never-will-be-great teams.

Dynamic and connected

It’s easy to draw a line around some teams and say they are discrete entities with defined tasks. But they all exist within a web of relating, purposeful doing and wider contextual influences. None of these teams are static or exist in isolation. And different people will define and categorise them in different ways.

Design and emergence

How much thoughtful design goes into this notion of teaming I wonder?

And when deliberate design is not appropriate or possible, who is creating or noticing emerging game changing conversations and creating the notion of team and fresh purpose around these?

How easy and common is it just to stay within existing budgetary and organisational boundaries and team as you have always teamed? Shifting the proverbial deck chairs as it were? How much vision, courage and persistence is needed in your organisation to shift budget and boundaries to re-
define collaborative effort?

Connecting conversations

When your organisation invests in team definition and development, is it polishing an antique or turbo-charging a new set of connecting conversations that will create something great? What is the guiding philosophy and design?

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company Ltd