Simplifying Complexity - Part 1: Integrating the Large Team

By Steve Jandrell

Integrating the Large Team:

The Challenge of Unplanned Complexity

Large scale projects, whether they are; the result of a business transformation program, technology based, the result of a merger or acquisition, part of a move to a shared services model or the result of an outsourcing arrangement may be characterized by one or more of the following:

• Multiple teams with individual goals
• A blend of employees and consultants
• Independent contractors
• Outsourcing vendor(s)
• Specialty advisors (e.g., legal, audit, tax)
• Trainers
• Different working styles

This is a complex operating environment. Even the best planning can lead to complexity, but when decisions are made at the tactical level, or are incrementally made, this complexity can grow exponentially. The complexity issue has many dimensions, including differing methodologies, performance expectations, operating cultures (even national culture), standards, definitions of team work and success criteria.

The challenge becomes one of integrating potentially disparate groups into one cohesive whole. To achieve this, these questions need to be answered in the affirmative:

- Is there clear, visible and active sponsorship?
- Is the end goal defined in tangible and specific terms for the entire effort?
- Is a leadership structure in place with roles and responsibilities unambiguously defined?
- Has a brand identity been created?
- Is there a detailed program plan with supporting project plans?
- Are milestones and measures built into that program and project plans?
- Is there one overarching set of methods and approaches?
- Have performance standards been set and communicated?
- Have cultural differences been discussed, defined and accounted for in plans?
- Have team based and cross team reward and recognition plans been developed and implemented?
- Is a retention and re-entry plan in place for employees/associates on the program?

Creating commonality of purpose is not a one-off effort. Collective success is the definition of program and project success. It needs to communicated regularly and reinforced by leadership action and example.

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CandidAdvisors introduces Belbin Team Roles - Achieving More with Less – The Need to Create and Sustain High Performing Teams

Achieving More with Less – The Need to Create and Sustain High Performing Teams

High performance at a team level rarely just happens. Whether it’s planning to win the Super Bowl, delivering team outcomes above expectations or integrating multiple teams, there is the issue of how to maximize the talent and contribution of each team member.

While having clear, measurable and shared team goals is central, it is maximizing team member contribution and building team synergy that often presents the biggest challenge. Typically, relationships within a team are fairly superficial; stereotypes of individuals (often wrong), are easily formed and sustained and discord is not addressed. Teams can develop team dynamic dysfunction, such as a small sub-set of the team dominating discussions.

At CandidAdvisors LLC, we are able to address individual contribution, total team effectiveness and team dynamics to help improve and sustain team performance. We use a sound and pragmatic behavioral approach because behavior is visible; it can be measured, positive behavior can be replicated, and unhelpful behavior for the same reasons can be explicitly discouraged.

To accomplish this, we facilitate a process of individual and group discovery. From each team member’s own experience, we build a picture of what outstanding teaming looks like. In other words, the team creates its own benchmarks to measure itself. The team members then take the Belbin self perception inventory on team roles.

The Belbin was developed by Dr. Meredith Belbin and his team who conducted research at Henley Management College in the UK over a period of nine years and studied the behavior of managers from all over the world. Their book, Management Teams - Why They Succeed or Fail was cited by the Financial Times as one of the top fifty business books of all time.

We use the output of this tool to help the team identify its strengths, challenge unhelpful stereotypes and foster an environment of achievement where each team member’s contribution is not only valued at the individual level, but at the team level too.

For example, the full process is 5 days for a team of up to 12 people:

• 2 days of preparation – understanding specific issues, one-on-one confidential meetings with team members and development of a clear picture of the desired outcome and barriers to that outcome.
• 2 days for the workshop
• 1 day to produce the final team deliverable and record of the workshop.

The result is a focused deliverable of what the team can do to raise its game and how to keep that raised game on track. The workshop creates the energy and direction for ongoing success.

Contact us at info@candidadvisors.com or call us at 404-478-4112 for more information