Dynamic Tension And The Search For High Performance

Last week I had lunch with two ex-colleagues, well an ex-boss and a peer. As is often the case in such circumstances there was a degree of nostalgic remininisence. To be fair, the three years we worked together were good. I think we realised that at the time, but hindsight makes it clearer. Personally and professionally, individually and together we did a lot of good work and improved practices within our team as well as delivering a lot of change and having a fair bit of fun.

Unfortunately succeeding management has managed to undo much of what we put in place, a view supported by recent comments from other old colleagues. So much so, that many have forgotten or are just unaware of how good the experience of working in a high performing team can be.

That lunch set me thinking about the best teams I have been part of and indeed what made them special. I would say that I have been in three really strong teams, one in sports and two in work. That does not mean that other teams have been no good, just that they failed, in my opinion, to deliver anywhere near the top of their potential.

One could say that it is sad that I only identify three periods of my life when I was in high performing teams, but I would disagree; that is three times more than many people can claim.

The sports team was the 1st XV in my lower sixth (year 12) at school. It was successful, it was diverse and it had a spirit and a comradeship that lifted the experience above the norm. We were not unbeaten, but we were strong on and off the field.

My next two are more pertinent, being change teams. Interestingly the two are 20 years apart.

The first was in the 1980s with a Canadian Bank where we had a business change team of around 8, serving an operation of around 130. This was the first time I encountered structured change and had a operating model that tackled multiple changes, through virtual teams. In practice this could mean that I was project manager on one project, but providing business analysis on another and was a test resource on a third. While sounding complicated this worked as it built respect, trust and familiarity across the team, kept up a stream of personal challenges and created considerable resilience. This was headed by a quiet, experienced, relatively hands-off Welshman who could as easily roll is sleeves up and perform a detailed reconciliation as buy the late night pizzas. He was equally driver, counsellor, supporter and, when appropriate, deaf and blind too.

The second was more recent and with a British organisation, where a change team of around 60 served a business of 600-700. With the size there was more structure, but with a considerable co-operation between members and an appetite to improve and demonstrate value. It was here that I was introduced to "dynamic tension" in the context that if everyone was happy with everything I was doing, then my boss considered I was not doing my job. To push for best practice, to challenge effectively and to deliver efficiently one cannot satisfy everyone all of the time. The key was the boss not only recognised this, but supported his team throughout.

Again the boss was business savvy, relatively hands off, yet demanding in a quiet way. He too accepted and embraced diversity in and around his team.

Apart from the obvious similarities I would also say that both leaders were operators rather than mechanics. By this I mean they looked for outcomes through the application and support of there various resources, however that was best achieved, rather than being caught unnecessarily in process and documentation.

Using an engineering analogy, there are some very skilled people who can take an automotive engine and tune and modify it to be the best engine there is, but....... to win a F1 race takes a lot more than just the best engine. Instead it is a combination of driver, tyres, support team, etc. The leader of the best team has it all covered, not just the engine.

Both of the leaders came from a business rather than IT background and it showed. Both were comfortable in their own skin too.

Just writing this has brought back good feelings and reminded me that I want to be part of such a team again. More than that, I hope I will have the opportunity to build and lead such a team. It has helped refresh my understanding of the encouraging signs, the green shoots of high performance if you like.

When I give up on that I guess I will start retiring.