By: S HADI ABDULLAH                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
What made Atilla the Hun, Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great                                                                                        
succeed?  Not unsurprisingly, it is the same thing that makes                                                                                         
modern companies successful too.  The answer is good teamwork                                                                                         
with motivated leadership, of course. The armies of old, for                                                                                          
that matter, the modern ones too, divided themselves into                                                                                             
manageable units - squads, sections, platoons, company, etc. The                                                                                      
identification of oneself with a particular group along with its                                                                                      
own norms, values, practices and uniqueness gives the individual                                                                                      
"unlimited" power to soar. The support, trust, common goals and                                                                                       
the savouring of success together is what makes a good team                                                                                           
unique.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
What exactly is teamwork?  Simply put, teamwork has the                                                                                               
components of common purpose and accountability, and is success                                                                                       
motivated.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The common purpose, common goals, targets and benchmark are the                                                                                       
beacons to reach the port of call. Teams need to know exactly                                                                                         
where to go, when, and in what numbers and quality (goods and                                                                                         
services). Beyond this, they want to be the best in the                                                                                               
industry, the neighbourhood or the country. Of course, company                                                                                        
culture, leadership, working environment and company politics                                                                                         
have a positive or negative effect. Assuming these influences                                                                                         
are positive, teams need clear guidelines.  These are the                                                                                             
compass and corporate glue to accomplishment.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The second factor in teamwork is accountability. There is                                                                                             
responsibility, self- supervision and no passing of the buck.                                                                                         
Shirking responsibility is not condoned; in fact, it goes                                                                                             
against the very grain of teamwork. Team members "reprimand" one                                                                                      
another if this situation occurs. The feeling "if it is to be,                                                                                        
let it be me" pervades good teams. Ample examples of this are                                                                                         
found in teams in Texas Instruments, Samsung, Body Shop and                                                                                           
others.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Good teams are success motivated. They savour and shine when                                                                                          
they meet targets or excel expectations. They know that it is                                                                                         
their collective talents and not individual brightness that                                                                                           
contribute to good congruence. There is tremendous synergy, the                                                                                       
team mantra that never fails. Typically one success leads to                                                                                          
another, with celebrations and mementos. Success is certainly a                                                                                       
super motivator. That is why when building teams, leaders are                                                                                         
advised to provide them challenges and goals that are reachable.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
When does a team need reworking? A sure sign is the lack of                                                                                           
progress towards objectives, meaning that teams go awry or make                                                                                       
little impact. Inappropriate leadership and not providing the                                                                                         
pathway and direction to the team is another.  This, of course,                                                                                       
will result in the failure to make sound decisions. This could                                                                                        
mean that wrong decisions are made or that there is a delay in                                                                                        
decision making, or that no decisions are made.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
A team would certainly need to be reworked if there is                                                                                                
interpersonal hostility.  Team members do not see eye to eye;                                                                                         
there is cliquing. This problem, unless addressed, tends to                                                                                           
worsen with time. When the above is happening, team members tend                                                                                      
to shoulder unnecessary stress. Although individual in nature,                                                                                        
it dampens team spirit besides posing as a health hazard.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Low motivation and lack of spirit are also telltale signs for a                                                                                       
team to be reworked. Team members do not party or indulge in                                                                                          
much joking and laughter.  There is a solemn, depressed and                                                                                           
"damp" atmosphere. A team in need of reworking most often shows                                                                                       
role confusion. Team members do not know exactly what their                                                                                           
roles are. Directions and team objectives are blurred. In this                                                                                        
case, team members are left to their own wits.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
One very common factor in a poor team is its high turnover or                                                                                         
absenteeism.  People begin slowly to leave a non-performing team                                                                                      
to seek more challenges or appreciation elsewhere. If they are                                                                                        
reluctant to leave, then you find the common melody called                                                                                            
absenteeism. Some will take medical leave or emergency leave.                                                                                         
The latter is often the result of a "grandmother's" death.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The above does not occur independently but rather in a cluster                                                                                        
or group.  It is only logical for one thing to lead to another.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
How do we know when teams have improved? Early in its renewal                                                                                         
would be the improvement of product or service quality. Overall                                                                                       
quality difference would be seen. The air itself would be                                                                                             
positive. Productivity improvement would be another. The number                                                                                       
of units produced, clients served, sales made would show a plus.                                                                                      
The next sign of improvement would be growth in profitability.                                                                                        
The team would bring in more than before, both individually and                                                                                       
as a group. The final sign of improvement would be "the job                                                                                           
satisfaction" that each member of the team experiences. Members                                                                                       
would be keen to work; they would enjoy their work and thrive on                                                                                      
the challenges and achievements. Of course, there would be very                                                                                       
little turnover and almost zero absenteeism.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Over the years, many forms of steps have been taken to build or                                                                                       
improve teams.  Team members are chosen based on their interest,                                                                                      
aptitude, experience and expertise. They are given challenging                                                                                        
tasks and rewarded accordingly. From the training point of view,                                                                                      
a number of methods are used to harness and improve teams. A                                                                                          
common endeavour is what is called "experiential learning".                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Experiential learning is a sure way of exposing people to                                                                                             
excellent behavioural practices and inculcating such in them. In                                                                                      
the recent past, outdoors experiential learning has proven to be                                                                                      
an effective way of building team and espirit de corp.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The outdoor exercise can vary depending on the emphasis one                                                                                           
wants to make. The various elements of leadership,                                                                                                    
communication, interpersonal skills, creativity, listening                                                                                            
skills, self-confidence, discovering the power of group                                                                                               
cooperation, developing strategies, etc. can individually or in                                                                                       
various combinations be programmed and experienced. All the                                                                                           
activities are designed as metaphors for professional challenges                                                                                      
in an organization.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
This like other team building activities results in great                                                                                             
exuberance and camaraderie among team members. One can often                                                                                          
find them hugging each other, cheering, singing, etc. The air is                                                                                      
positively charged; there is a "gung-ho" spirit, meaning that                                                                                         
"we can do anything, we are a super team". This spirit will last                                                                                      
for a fortnight. While people who have participated may be                                                                                            
friendlier than before, this need not necessarily result in                                                                                           
quality or product improvement.  What is needed is for the                                                                                            
management to harness this overflow of energy and enthusiasm.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Again, teams can be set up to address certain company problems.                                                                                       
One such method is Action Learning, which uses simple techniques                                                                                      
for personal and organizational learning, while solving                                                                                               
problems. Introduced by Reg Revans, this method is used by                                                                                            
General Electric, Bristol Myers Squibb, and McKinsey & Company                                                                                        
among others.  Other methods could be quality circles, task                                                                                           
forces, etc. The important thing is for the management to ride                                                                                        
the wave of enthusiasm and exuberance and not let it simmer down                                                                                      
to normalcy.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Teams are here to stay. How we build, nurture and let them grow                                                                                       
could mean success or failure. Mastering the methods of managing                                                                                      
teams is a must, more so in a world that needs teamwork plus                                                                                          
creativity, innovativeness and a maverick way of thinking. Look                                                                                       
at Genghis Khan, learn from General Electric, and develop your                                                                                        
own high performance team.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Think success, think team.