Is teamwork rare?

I’ve been reflecting on the Pat Lencioni quote I posted Monday, about how teamwork is “so powerful and so rare.” If it’s so powerful, why is it so bloody rare?

If you’re like me, a laundry list of reasons is probably scrolling through your head - unclear goals, communication breakdowns, silos, territoriality, toxic team members…

But then I wondered, is teamwork in organizations actually so rare, or is it that the negative experiences - design conflicts, political infighting, uncooperative team members - stick in our memories and dominate our thinking while the positive experiences get taken-for-granted and forgotten?

I thought of the now countless teams I’ve studied, advised, and facilitated. I’m typically called in to help them understand and resolve problems. I’ve often thought of each one as a case study of a particular problem resolution. As I think back, however, each team I’ve worked with also exhibited significant levels of cooperation, collaboration, and coordination prior to meeting with me. And each of them managed to accomplish impressive feats - saving lives, launching novel products, disrupting entire industries…?

In fact, we’re surrounded by evidence of effective collaboration every day. Beyond the headline achievements like new drug discoveries and miracle surgeries, thousands of routine surgeries are performed safely and on-time, safe food is served to millions of restaurant customers, and thousands of flights depart from and arrive in cities continents apart every single day. Each of these accomplishments requires significant collaboration and real-time coordination within and across teams.?

What we hear about, of course, are the botched surgeries, the cases of food poisoning, and the technical snafus that cause massive flight delays.

Could it also be because the collaboration doesn't always look the way we expect it to or happen via the formal channels that everyone can see? Here are a few examples of the types of effective collaboration I see happening in teams all the time, often via phone, text, Teams, or in a brief hallway conversation:

• “Why don’t you call [X], while I look up [Y], and let’s meet back here after lunch to see if we can get this resolved.”
• “Hey, I saw you’re working on the [ABC] analysis. I did a deep dive on that data last year. My spreadsheet templates will save you a lot of time.”?
• “I’m stuck on [Z]. Could you spend 15 min brainstorming with me this afternoon?”

I bet these same kinds of informal collaboration are happening in your company and are often going unnoticed - either because they're not a "problem" that grabs our attention or because we simply don't see them happen.

What might happen if you/we start looking for, noticing, and appreciating when we see collaboration occur?

What would it even look like? How about "Anika, Jessica - really great the way you two pulled together to get that report to the Board in time!" or "I really appreciate the way everyone pitched in this week to get ready for the design review. Thanks!"

Based on the science, I think that appreciating what is already happening won't keep us from getting better - it will give us energy to continue growing and improving.??

I'll give it a try if you will. Let me know how it goes.

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Hi, I’m Julie Rennecker. I collaborate with and train executives and business owners of medical device, life science, and adjacent technical service companies to improve team effectiveness, cohesion, and resilience to change. If you're leading a team and seeking to optimize existing talent, resolve inter-disciplinary conflicts, and/or build a future-ready team for your next stage of growth, let's connect! Explore my profile for more info or DM me to schedule a free discovery call.

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