Team gotta have a code

Team gotta have a code. Image from HBO

One of my favourite television shows of all time is The Wire. It is set in Baltimore and central to it is the drug culture of the city (the incredibly complex interaction between users, dealers, police, politicians and more is mesmerising).  It was written by journalists who had spent a lot of time reporting on the streets so while clearly fictionalised, a lot of the storylines have borrowed from real life. None of the traditional "good guys" (the police, politicians and lawyers) are portrayed as perfect and always in the right. In the same way, the traditional "bad guys" (drug dealers, criminals and drug users) aren't portrayed as evil, stupid or without values.

Michael K Williams' character of Omar was one of the best examples of this. He was a criminal who stole property and drugs using violence and intimidation. Yet, many viewers (like me) grew to admire the way he carried himself. He was articulate, sharp witted and insightful. Perhaps more than anything, the quote that resonates with me is..."a man's gotta have a code".

For our teams, there are a few lessons that we can take from Omar:

1. Know yourself

   Omar had some serious swagger! He was very comfortable in his own skin (and fond of referring to himself in third person!), but he was clear about what he stood for and what mattered to him.
   

   Our teams can benefit from clarity about who we are, what we stand for and what is important to us.

2. Know the "game"
   The streets of Baltimore are hopefully a very different environment to your workplace. However, it's useful to learn to see the context in which we are working as it is - not as we want it to be. Omar's pragmatic and dispassionate assessment of the life he lived allowed him to be clear on how he wanted to operate in it - including accepting the associated risks and consequences.
   

   Our teams can benefit from seeing their world as it is - not as we want it to be (or as it used to be).
   

3. Have a code
   Because Omar was clear on who he was and the game he was playing,  he was able to create his own way of living that allowed him to define and achieve success on his own terms. He could create a "code" -  a set of principles by which he lived his life. This code guided his behaviour and acted as a real time decision making framework that meant he had clarity on what was acceptable and not acceptable (according to him). 

   
   Our teams can benefit from principles that guide the behaviours that we aspire to and hold each other to. To borrow from Omar, "team gotta have a code."

Here are some questions for you to reflect on this week:

1. Is your team clear on its identity?

2. How well does your team understand the complexity of the environment it is operating in?

3. Does your team have principles that guide its behaviours?