become aware of hidden narratives
around oppression, privilege, race
and gender; and evolve beyond
mere tolerance to fully embrace
the extraordinary community of
“otherness” represented by a global
work force. By raising the bar on
social awareness, leaders can not
only engender an environment of
respect and support in which their
team members can thrive, they can
call forth perhaps hitherto unknown
reserves of creativity and insight
from the most diverse pool of talent
the world has ever known.
9. Teamwork to
Teaming
Knowledge-based teams are
different. They do not always
operate best when built around
bounded structures with strict
definitions of who’s in and who’s
out. They do not focus exclusively
on beating the competition, touting
individual “stars,” or promoting
conformity and sameness. As Amy
Edmondson at Harvard Business
School writes, for knowledge-based
teams today, “… teaming is a verb. It
is a dynamic activity, not a bounded,
static entity …Teaming blends
relating to people, listening to other
points of view, coordinating actions
and making shared decisions.”
Leaders who wish to optimize team
dynamics today need to know how
to do “teaming,” not team-building.
Knowledge workers and millennials
with sought-after skills in business,
engineering, science, math and
medicine are quick to move around,
quick to move out and quick to
note if their team is functioning
optimally under a boss who “gets it.”
If they feel stymied, unheard, overly
structured or micromanaged—even
with a leader who has the best of
intentions—the likelihood of that
team remaining in prime operating
mode for very long is small. Simply
put, a traditional, heroic leader may
Recommended Reading
CONTINUED...
Teaming: How
Organizations Learn,
Innovate and Compete
in the Knowledge
Economy, by Amy
Edmondson (JosseyBass, 2012)
True North: Discover
Your Authentic
Leadership, by Bill
George (Jossey-Bass,
2007)
Why We Do What We
Do: Understanding SelfMotivation, by Edward
L. Deci with Richard
Flaste (reprint ed.,
Penguin, 1996)
Your Creative Brain:
Seven Steps to
Maximize Imagination,
Productivity and
Innovation in Your Life,
by Shelley Carson
(Jossey-Bass, 2012)
“For coaches, the
challenge is to
accelerate the shift: to
listen, to support, and
to coax from leaders
greater self-awareness,
inclusiveness, empathy
and a willingness to
experiment and
take risks.”
find him or herself captain of a
ship without a crew.
So for the emergent post-heroic
leader, and his or her coach,
the dilemma of teamwork is
clear: How do I “run” the show,
motivate the team and focus on
the goal of winning if truly high
performance is determined by a
very different set of organization
dynamics: permeability, flexibility,
collaboration and a willingness to
fail and learn fast?
It would appear that the tectonic
plates of traditional leadership
theory are adrift. Ye а