Ready, steady...TEAM!
Like skilled chefs, skilled teams are able to function well and produce a high level of performance in spite of the limitations.
I have a limited range of dishes that I can cook well. As long as I have all of the ingredients, equipment and time, I can do a decent job of those dishes. I run into my limitations pretty quickly - and can easily be convinced to choose a meal of convenience (from the freezer or a local takeaway). That process reinforces my belief of my limited cooking skills and doesn't do much to develop my skills as a cook.
It is one of the reasons that I have always been so impressed by the chefs on the TV show Ready, Steady, Cook.
The premise of the show was pretty simple - two teams of two (each comprising a chef and a non-chef) competed to create the best dish. Pretty standard, except that the cooking was to be created with limited resources. Compared to a commercial kitchen, those limitations included:
Time (as with most TV cooking competitions)
Resources (they had a pretty standard kitchen that appeared much more like a home kitchen than a commercial one)
Team (they were paired with an amateur - and only one person, not a larger team of trained chefs)
Ingredients (the non-chef brought a bag of ingredients purchased on a budget that needed to form the base of the meal)
I was always impressed by how the expert chefs were able to produce great meals with the constraints imposed upon them. They created incredible dishes that seemed like they could have been produced in a proper restaurant with far fewer restrictions. It mirrors a pattern that I am noticing in teams at work.
There are some teams (those who are more skilled at teaming) that are able to function well and produce a high level of performance in spite of the limitations. Among others, common constraints may be time, budget, working remotely or the experience of the team. Much like the chefs presented with an onion, a cucumber and a block of tofu, these teams accept the limitations and see the possibility. They identify what can be crafted from what is available to them and get to work.
On the other hand, some teams focus on the constraints - like the way that I cook. They are unable to align their approach with what lays in front of them. Among other patterns, there appears to be a tendency to wish for time travel. Either, to go back to the past - "things were better when..." or to move into the future "things will be better when...". The weird thing is that those things can be true - it's quite possible things were better when the team was working on a system that they were more familiar with or will be better when we don't have to factor in COVID restrictions. Focusing on the constraints instead of accepting them is the trap that these teams fall into.
It's a trap that is an ineffective and inefficient use of our most precious resources (our team's energy, attention and time). The truth of the very real constraints is what lures us into the trap.
While it's not easy, it is better in our teams if we can be more like the skilled chefs of Ready, Steady, Cook. Focus our energy, attention and time on being able to accept the constraints, see the possibilities, adapt to the changing conditions and do the best work that we can with what we've got. Ironically, it starts with an acceptance of the limitations (as opposed to a resistance or denial of them) which allows teams to operate in the environment as it is and not as they want it to be.
Here are some questions for you to reflect on this week:
What are the constraints that your team are facing at the moment?
Are you accepting or focusing on the constraints of your team?