According to an article in Harvard Business Review, teams of employees become ineffective because “problems with coordination and motivation typically chip away at the benefits of collaboration.”
Last week, a question came up on the topic of project management regarding how to replace a modus operandi characterized by a state of urgency with more of a well thought out and anticipatory approach. I offered advice originally included in my book, “Winning in Baseball and Business, Transforming Little League Principles into Major League Profits for Your Company.”
Using a Little League Principle to illustrate that Harvard Business Journal got it right…
Watch any 10-year-old Little League baseball pre-game ritual and it is often quite easy to predict before game time which team is going to win the game. One team usually displays a more organized and structured approach to pre-game warmups (coordination) and their players display a higher level of activity, purpose and energy (motivation.) A well-organized and structured company typically is more effective and profitable than a company that is not… Employees like to “win” too!
Sharing one Little League Principle you can apply to increase team effectiveness
The ACE Model (Anticipate, Communicate, Educate) is not for bandages–it is for team building.
Anticipate: If you are an athlete, baseball/softball is not a spectator sport. Every player on defense should understand exactly what he/she will do as a play unfolds. Each player should be moving in anticipation of where the ball will be going. Do your employees think, care and act in anticipation of the next several steps of a project?
Communicate: Players should communicate with each other, constantly as each play unfolds. Sometimes, anticipation doesn’t put a player in the right place at the right time. There is nothing like constant communication on the field among players to help each other be successful in pursuit of a perfectly executed play. Do your employees constantly and effectively communicate with each other?
Educate: Coaches have an opportunity to watch the plays unfold; to see what worked well and what didn’t. Between innings, a best practice is to spend thirty seconds sharing and educating the players. Positive coaching focuses on helping players understand “what success looks like” and on giving concrete coaching advice for how to achieve mastery in the future. Do you consistently and positively coach up employees on your team?
Use the ACE Model to improve team coordination and employee motivation; and to help the team/company reap the rewards of increasingly effective collaboration. This coaching model was shared with me by Dan Bean, a good friend from our days living on Mercer Island. We’re having lunch later this week and it is nice being able to share his coaching model with you.