The Bus

I am privileged to be a volunteer mentor with the Elevator foundation and earlier this year I facilitated a workshop with a 2023 cohort to discuss high-performance teams. The 'bus' analogy remains one of the best I know when it comes to discussing and explaining team performance.

As our conversation about leadership and teambuilding progressed, we naturally referenced "getting the right people on the bus", which was a reference made famous by Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great. Our discussion gathered momentum as we expanded the metaphor. There are so many elements of a bus journey that serve as a perfect visualisation code for team success.

If I apply this thinking and close my eyes, I visualise a Springboks versus All Blacks rugby match where television coverage shows the teams arriving at the stadium "a little earlier"... The coach and players exit the bus to enter the arena. I wonder about the moodset on the bus and the mindset of the players. I wonder whether the coach or captain speaks to the group or whether everyone is left to their own thoughts and audio devices. Perhaps one day I will get to ask Rassie or Siya. It intrigues me.

Let us return to the idea of getting the right people on the bus (and therefore by definition, getting the wrong people off the bus). This is a sensitive topic but in reality it is the most important ingredient for progress and success. It is the foundation of any successful team. A negative influence on the bus will affect the experience of all passengers. One subversive or selfish individual can distract the driver and endanger the journey. If the right people are carefully selected and nurtured to be invited into the bus, the effectiveness of the team will be excellent wherever they disembark to add value. So, looking after the right people, and the right climate on the bus is a strategic and cultural imperative.

If the right people are carefully selected and nurtured to be invited into the bus, the effectiveness of the team will be excellent wherever they disembark to add value.

Talking of strategy, we need to have direction. To have direction, we need to have a destination. Everyone on the bus should be excited about the destination and the journey. Therefore the strategy needs to be shared and understood. The passengers need to trust the chosen route, the navigator and the driver.

The bus has to stop along the way. These stops have several valuable benefits such as refuelling the bus, replenishing supplies, and refreshing the passengers. The bus will also need regular maintenance to avoid breakdown. These maintenance periods should be scheduled such that progress on any journey suffers minimum interruption.

Changing the destination or the route can cause anxiety among the passengers so the people on the bus need to be engaged and enrolled in order to ensure cohesion and continued trust. If the passengers lose faith in the driver, they may choose to get off the bus for good. Indeed, if the bus is considered unreliable, good people could well choose to get on a different bus.

What about where people sit on the bus? This can be random, or it can be deliberate. Research by Professor Thomas Allen in the 1970s concluded that distance negatively affects communication and the opposite is also true. If we want two people to communicate closely, place them next to each other on the bus! Use the journey as productive time to be more effective upon arrival at any disembarkation or destination.

Over the last 10 years I can think of many clients who asked for help with their strategy. When we have commenced our support, which initially involves listening to the frontline team, it has emerged that before we align on strategic direction, we need to first focus on getting the right people on the bus. Equally, I can think of many clients who have had the right balance on the team, and have been able to consistently deliver excellence as a result. Where are you on that continuum?

This brings me to the importance of the bus ticket. In times gone by, there was a bus conductor who oversaw ticket purchase and bus entry. Overseeing entry to the proverbial bus is so important. A ticket to ride on the bus should be exchanged through careful assessment and guidance such that there is a cultural fit and a win/win for the team and the new joiner. Without a proper induction which provides an immersion into the way things are done - the artefacts, the stories, the legends, the values - the team on the bus is not as cohesive and committed as it could be...

Think of the bus next time you are building an effective team. Get the right people on the bus, look after the people on the bus, make it our collective journey to an exciting destination. Lets make the most of our time on the bus such that we arrive at any disembarkation razor sharp and raring to go!