Instant Teaming

We can’t talk about “teaming” without starting with our hero and worldwide expert in the topic - Prof. Dr Amy Edmondson. As usual, for anyone who has not read her brilliant books “The Fearless Organization” or “Teaming” - you must, but meanwhile, at the very least listen to her Ted talk about the ways in which you can transform a group of individuals into a team on the fly.

Amy explains clearly why sports teams are very different and how they have the luxury of being stable, having a strong goal and interdependence in achieving a common objective, so they have had the time to practice together and get better. The length of time that a team has operated together for, is indeed a great indicator for success with the components that make up a healthy team dynamic in the business world as well, and if we refer to the Lencioni’s observations on team building models, then we’ll see that “Performing” comes later in the evolution of the team dynamic after they have been together for a while and have gone through the initial phases.

Do we need a way to speed up “Forming”, “Norming” and “Storming” and form tight bonds, build trust and establish a foundation of comfortable and safe openness? Is “teaming” as defined as “the ability to form a strong team fast” needed?

Of course, there are the evident examples in which yes, teaming is not only desirable but very necessary, ranging from the ad-hoc emergency situations where passers-by lend a hand in a roadside accident, (they don’t know each other but they manage to organise fast and assign roles and tasks on the fly to achieve a common goal)-, to the work environments that have an inbuilt operational need of teams that form on the spot and disassemble at the end of the engagement - such as a shift in the ER or an environment with temporary workers.

What about in most other industries, in particular in the tech industry that typically sees teams have some expectation of permanency? When do we need teaming there?