Fuel And Friction In Your Teams
Rockets try to maximise their fuel and minimise their friction. Teams can do the same. Photo by Bill Jelen on Unsplash
Dan Ariely of Duke University and author of Predictably Irrational (plus several other books) presented a TED Talk in 2019 on behaviour change that presents a useful way for teams to look at performance. Here is what Ariely said:
“When we think about sending a rocket to space, we want to do two main things. The first one is to reduce friction. We want to take the rocket and have as little friction as possible so it's the most aerodynamic possible. And the second thing is we want to load as much fuel as possible, to give it the most amount of motivation, energy to do its task.”
I love this. It’s an example of someone who has thought deeply about very complex issues and managed to distill it into something accessible and useful for the rest of us. Here’s how it’s useful for your teams.
If we consider a team’s purpose as it’s equivalent of being sent off into space, there will be a number of factors that are providing fuel - as in driving the team towards its objectives. These things might be external such as rewards from the organisation or internal such as the capabilities within the teams. Likewise, there will be forces that slow the team down that could come from beyond the team (like changes to government regulation) or within the team (like poor information sharing or collaboration).
An exercise that I encourage teams to go through is a great way to map these forces. Once they are mapped, it’s possible to better make a decision about the best actions for a team at any given time. It’s important to regularly revisit these circumstances. The world changes fast and there is a huge risk that without being attentive to the shifting circumstances around a team, we become expert at solving yesterday’s problems.
Some questions for you to consider in your teams:
What is providing your team with fuel?
What are some sources of friction for your team?