Building an Ocean Rowing Team

This is the 2nd part of a 5 part mini-series about my experiences of building a project that allows us to row across the Pacific Ocean. We are Team HODL, a 3-person crew attempting to row across the Pacific Ocean to raise donations for The Ocean Cleanup , while setting a World Record. Check out our Instagram and GoFundMe to donate

Communication is key - cliche but always applicable

Cutu (my rowing crew member) does not use any sort of calendar. Yes, for many people reading this on LinkedIn you may have just received chills running down the back of your spine. For someone who has spent his life setting up meetings and calls, a calendar is vital. At this stage without one, I’d probably forget to eat my lunch. However, there is another world out there (apparently). One without the use of a planner. This is a world where Cutu resides.

All jokes aside, Cutu comes from working on yachts and boats. The way he interacts with technology is very different to myself. To begin, I must admit I struggled as I would set up a call for the team meeting, invite Cutu via email and he would be a no-show. Later to find that he does not regularly check his email. So at this stage, I realised how I communicate with Cutu and vice versa, needs to be adapted. It’s important to point out, this isn’t a dig about Cutu not using emails (maybe one day he will open my emails). It’s a realisation that the world I work in, isn’t the only world that exists. In reality, a very large proportion of the world does not operate this way. I would be very ignorant to consider that my method of work is the best and only. Therefore, instead of demanding that Cutu uses his emails, we found another form of communication that suits us both - in this case it’s WhatsApp.

Tasks and Belonging

The sport of rowing is a wonderful analogy of a perfect team rhythm. If one member rows faster than the others, the team’s stroke becomes a mess. Therefore, everyone has to row in the same direction, at the same speed. Especially within such a small organisation. We found the key was to take on leadership roles within the project. For example, Matt S owns the medical and logistical elements of the row. Anything that touches these themes, he needs to lead. I, on the other hand, run all the project management.?

I fundamentally believe everyone wants to belong to something. We seek belonging in so many things we do every day. In the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, the people we talk to. I also believe that successful organisations have an immense sense of belonging and offer all their stakeholders an ability to be part of the team.

The question is how do you create this sense of belonging within an organisation, especially for employees?

I don’t want to pretend I have the complete answer here, plus, it’s a complex question to unravel. There is tons of research about this and many various schools of thought.?

My only addition to this question is that I think today, too many organisations offer employees extra things in order to create a sense of belonging e.g. free lunches at work, doing after work beers or big Christmas parties. Even more, they believe a sense of belonging happens when everyone gets together. However, with the row and my previous career experiences, I have found that fundamentally, people want to work. They want to get a job done and get satisfaction from the achievement. I’m talking more about doing tasks. When these tasks are completed, you get the feeling that you have contributed to the cause, the team. I’ve seen many companies try to motivate their employees with these extra things, but motivation and satisfaction figures are not rising. If anything, people are less happy at work than ever before. We have forgotten why people turn up to work; to get tasks done.?

At the beginning of our row, we would do the classic of going out as a team for events etc. Don’t get me wrong, they were great bonding sessions and they are also important to do but I could tell that not everyone had found their motivation towards the project. However, after we started to set clear tasks and to-do’s, mindsets started to shift.?

This applies even with the current debate of working remote vs in the office. The location for work isn’t the direct cause of unsatisfied workforce. Location is the cause of how well employees are able to complete tasks. This is different in each case. If you have a role where team input is vital, then constant zoom calls may be frustrating as it takes longer to get work completed. On the other hand, if most of your day is filled with sales conversations via the phone, being in your own secure environment may allow for less distractions to get them done.

I guess a good way of summarising; in order to belong to something, you must contribute.?

Now it’s down to the leaders to find the best way people can contribute and what they need to contribute.

Leadership

I wanted to do a short section on the topic of leadership. I find the discussions around leadership from a strategic and structural perspective to be less productive, rather leadership should be discussed in the form of outcomes and tasks. Fundamentally, for me the discussion about leadership is not about hierarchy or titles of individuals but more about the approach to work. There’s a great short article called Which way do you run by Ben Horowitz. I think he illustrates leadership perfectly and the difference between a productive and non-productive decision makers. I encourage you to have a read of the example Ben brings (I won’t repeat it). Even though he spoke about it in the context of a company he ran, I think it’s very applicable to our daily lives. The amount of times we delay a decision because we are scared off the outcome. Not sending a simple email to your accountant. Not replying to a text in your inbox. Delaying a purchase of a product. It comes down to one simple question, do you run towards your fear or do you run away from it?

This is the 2nd part of a 5 part mini-series about my experiences of building a project that allows us to row across the Pacific Ocean. We are Team HODL, a 3-person crew attempting to row across the Pacific Ocean to raise donations for The Ocean Cleanup , while setting a World Record. Check out our Instagram and Website to donate

Part 1 was about "Managing an Ocean Rowing Project". Next up is part 3, "The Mindset of an Ocean Rower"