Teamwork makes the dream work.

Ok, so this will be my first publication on LinkedIn, following a weekend of reflection on the past 12 months, I decided that I should put my thoughts onto paper and share them with the world... so feel free to indulge me, hopefully you will find what I say of interest, maybe even thought provoking, we shall see.

Just over 12 months ago @bakerandbaker was established as a standalone company, breaking away from CSM... Following a few rounds of interviews against some excellent candidates I was given the opportunity to lead the UK R&D team as a Director. Obviously I was very excited about the role, it was a great step up for me following 6 years of working at CSM, so I knew the culture, people and reported into a management team that I highly respected and that I knew would give me the freedom to express myself.

My first challenge was to engage with a multitude of people across 4 different sites with varying roles and responsibilities, all on the back of a global pandemic and the company they worked for changing. I made a conscious effort to speak with every person and give them some of my time to voice their feelings, concerns and opinions, it was extremely insightful...

By the end of my third week in the new role I had a list, a fairly long list if I'm being honest, of pretty much every thought and concern of my new team, from office and kitchen equipment issues to fears about returning to the office (following months of furlough). It was also becoming clear that the past 12 months of working from home had really impacted on the team dynamic, people were working in isolation, taking on responsibility for things they shouldn't and stressing about issues without sharing them.

During this same period of time (April - May 2021) I was also trying to pull together my new senior team, I'll be very honest, I had several personal questions and anxieties, some of the members of my new team were my peers only weeks before, would they respect me and my appointment, would they have preferred a more experienced Director? Could I deliver what the business was expecting of me? What would happen if I failed?

I pushed the negative thoughts to one side and worked with the team on creating a new R&D structure and a clear NPD procedure, ensuring everyone had a job spec that both delivered for the new business but also for the individual, I sat down with each of the senior members of my new team and we agreed their roles and responsibilities but also the ways of working between us.

Over the 20+ years that I have been managing people at various levels of age and experience I have built up a few personal guidelines:

1. What works for one person does not necessarily work for all, adapt your management style to suit the individual, not the other way around
2. Mutual trust and respect, this may take time but once established is very powerful
3. Unburden you team from every day frustrations that are in your control
4. Give your team allocated time where they have your sole attention, both 1-2-1 and as a group, make sure you listen to them
5. Be contactable, whether it is phone, teams, e-mail, text, let them know you are there if needed

So... to bring us back to my reflections of 2021... we have a new senior R&D team in a new business ready to take on the world. However, we still had one major hurdle... How do we create that "teamwork" feeling across the group

By now I was 3 months into the role and summer was creeping into view, Covid cases were dropping and it felt like some freedoms where returning, it was now that I gave all my managers the prompt to organise a social event for their teams, I'm careful not to use the word "team building exercise" as I have always hated this term, nothing good in my history has been associated with the word exercise... (other peoples experiences may differ)

This felt like the game changing moment, over the next 10 months we had several events across the UK with various site teams from escape rooms, indoor golf and paddle boarding to afternoon tea, food safari's and meals together. This culminated in a January innovation session, which brought together all our creative talent across the sites into a showcase of our thoughts, insight and ideas for 2022 and beyond, it was a fantastic day full of engagement and discussions across all functions

The impact that such a events does for your team really outweighs the monetary costs to the business, even after our first event with the Wirral team (escape rooms and a meal) you could see the positive change in the team, 12 months of lockdowns, frustrations and pressures temporarily relieved, new relationships were started and old ones rekindled, open conversations and discussions had across all levels about all topics (even reds and blues joking together...), people who are part of the same team were engaging again. It was very powerful to see it happening in front of your eyes, over the following weeks you could see that a lot of invisible pillars were coming down, the teams were now engaging on a day to day basis, respect and trust was being built, the "team" was taking shape

So that brings me back to today and my thoughts as I sit typing this... what we have achieved in 12 months has been extraordinary, the team I have around me is one of the best I've worked with, I would hope that my managers feel empowered and trusted to do their roles, we have robust structures and procedures in place, staff turnover and sickness is low and moral is high and long may it continue. As a group we are functioning at such a higher level then ever before, any challenges that come our way (and there are a lot this year already!) we work through together as a team.

I would encourage everyone who reads this to think about what they can do differently to improve the way your "teams work" are they; trusted, empowered, respected, engaged, happy? Could you do more, however small, to help develop those relationships, have you removed all the daily frustrations you can to create a better working environment. As a manager the power is in your hands to create the teamwork that makes the dream work.