Life, the Universe and Teamwork

1. Life, the Universe and Teamwork There is no ‘i’ in the word team. A burden shared is a burden halved.

2. Contents • Introduction • Some insights (how does teamwork work?) • Summary (12-15min presentation)

3. T(ogether)E(nabling)A(chieve)M(agic) • We are lucky enough to be a team. • Like it or not, our teamwork is incredibly important to TSIB. • We live in an age where the important stuff gets done by teams. Even solo Olympic athletes, test pilots and Tour de France cyclists have a support teams (logistics, trainers and fund raising). • In our business setting, no one can perform well without good teamwork.

4. How does teamwork work? • Want to achieve your TSIB personal objectives? Ironically it will rely on teamwork! I’m the perfect example of that. • The reverse also applies. As team members, the more we individually achieve, the better it reflects on the group - our reputation and influence gets stronger.

5. * Time, cash or staffing numbers** Best use of people’s time, systems and everyone’s strengthsWe don't have problems. What we have are loads of opportunities - a 'target rich' environment and lots of opportunity to shine.                 Example of a positive attitude - Thomas Edison apparently tried 1000 different ways to make a long-lasting light bulb.     He didn't give up, he said he just found 999 ways that it didn't work! What people remember is his success. What they respect most is his energy and persistence.           Department Self Reinforcing Cycle TSIB Self Reinforcing Cycle

6. How does teamwork work? • Teamwork helps us cope with rapid change - more pairs of eyes to see what’s going on, use of wider skills and experience (a bigger toolbox), the freshest team members to pick up the baton and run with it on something. • Strong teams have a wider awareness. Our department manages lots of processes but our clients care only about the end result of those processes. Never forget that. Team members perform tasks within those processes. That means it’s vital the team members know something about the wider process and the end customer. The result can only ever be as strong as the weakest link - its quality, its speed, how well it’s co ordinated.

8. What are some barriers to good teamwork?

9. Barriers to good teamwork? • Different goals e.g. conflicting priorities of team members. • Unclear goals e.g. changing customer needs. • Incomplete membership of the team (who are we missing?). • Poor performance within the team e.g. Low morale, inadequate skills, poor attention to detail, poor quality control, poor time management, lack of good judgement, internal rivalries. • Unclear understanding of the process (how it should work). • Unclear understanding of the tasks e.g. who does what and what role technology plays in completing the tasks. • Poor planning e.g. poor design, poor delivery planning. • Poor communication e.g. Misunderstandings about funding limits. Things slipping thru the cracks...

10. How does teamwork work? • When we manage our dept’s risks, without teamwork, the risks are simply harder and more complex to manage. • To an outsider, it seems like our dept has a recent history of staff changes, delays and quite loose inter-actions. Now everyone wants us to improve on our past performance. Improved teamwork is going to be a key part of that. • Our new team , like for other new teams is going through the classic 4 stage cycle - forming, storming, norming and then performing. Accept the cycle and expect it - it’s a natural thing! • One of the signs of good teamwork is team spirit. When it appears, it makes the team members feel they’re part of something special.

11. Our teams ... • Will form as needed, • May be made up of ‘the usual suspects’ or new combos, • May be a partnership of people and technology, • May be a partnership between multiple departments, • May be a partnership between TSIB staff and suppliers, • May rely on different people at different stages of the process, • Need a team captain - the process manager usually, • Need a coach – that’s me, if not someone closer to the action, • Borrow good ideas from great (sports) teams as appropriate, • Commit to help and support their team members, since achieving the result is really important, • Act like teams, not Committees. Plan-action-impact-results. ‘Committees lure good ideas down dark alleyways and quietly strangle them!’ Anon.

12. So what does Simon and TSIB want from me? • To perform at your best. As often as possible – both as an individual and as a team member. That’s why we hired YOU! • To show leadership – with the people you manage, with the time you manage and with the problems you encounter (think of Thomas Edison). • To lead by example. Be fair, be clear, be calm, be professional, but also... be yourself. You leading well will inspire the rest of us! • To be committed to self improvement. Be excited to come to work each day. We want to survive as an organisation and succeed as the world’s best example in what we do. That’s going to require energy, good communication, focus and team skills. From all of us! • To make smart judgements and smart decisions that you are empowered to make. If in doubt, refer to your manager. Refer to your team mates for advice, suggestions and support if you need to. • Trust your instincts and use common sense as much as possible.

13. And finally... • We have interesting times ahead (in a positive sense). I’m looking forward to working with all of you and ‘sharing the journey’. It might sound a bit corny, but I’ll be cheering for you! In fact, I consider myself lucky to head up a directorate with such a talented bunch of people in it. • I won’t ever be a mountain-sitting guru with all the answers, but I can offer some guidance on a range of issues, after experiencing what seems to work in practice, over a couple of decades. I can be a bit of a mentor, if you need a spare one. • Remember that with truly new situations, someone has to design a new solution to move forward. Don’t be phased if you find yourself having to do that - many great things were invented that way. • Thanks for all the hard work you’ve each put in to get us this far.