A View from the Peloton- #3: Team Performance

I used to think that cycling was an individual sport. People would do it near each other but essentially each person for themselves with the best "teams" being the sum of the best riders.

Part of the excitement of riding in a group, however, is that you are able to achieve more than any of the individual parts. That for me is the essence of what a team is about - achieving a shared objective with greater performance than any sole part of the team is capable of.

We had some strong riders in our group. Impressive legs that could go all day. These are the riders who spend a lot of time in the engine room and get noticed most. But as the tour progressed I noticed the more nuanced roles and dynamics of the peloton that I think are universal to a high performing team.

1. Diversity - Strong legs are great, and you need those, but you also need a variety of skills and perspectives to get the team through different stages. Calming, steady riders to cool the pace and lift awareness as we moved through traffic; uplifting personalities that kept the mood light and attention switched on, experienced hands to share insights and most importantly our support team who were always one step ahead of what we needed before we needed it. Think about the skills and experience that you need in your teams. Are there perspectives you are missing? Are you overloaded with "strong legs" and ignoring the important glue that keeps the team performance on track? If you are a leader, how are you engaging the diversity in your team to bring out everyone's best?
2. Wellbeing - Pushing as hard as you can all the time, only serves to fragment the peloton. 8 days of riding is a lot, and everyone finds their limits. Taking the speed back a little when riders were feeling the strain and planning breaks at the right times, kept everyone moving well together. So often in business we push for that next rung of performance, ignoring the sustainability trade off. Do you take time in your team meetings to discuss wellbeing and plan appropriate breaks? Do you reward pushing harder, or do you recognise keeping an eye out for each other and ensuring the team stays together?
3. Relationships - We spent hours on the road, side by side and got to know each other well beyond the superficial. This is a rare gem, particularly in the hybrid working world. I've spent a lot of time in the last couple of years working on flexibility of time and place. A big part of that opportunity space is the balancing act between focus productivity and collaboration productivity (credit Lynda Gratton for this concept from the inspiring #redesigningwork). The latter really benefits from strong connections built through sharing stories. That may seem like a luxury but it is absolutely a great investment that lets your team understand and leverage each others' diverse skills and also care a whole lot more about getting the job done together.
4. Shared Goals - On the ride, we knew explicitly that us ALL getting safely to Noosa was the objective and that was the framing throughout the tour. Quite often KPIs can have the opposite impact, driving competition and individual focus. Creating and discussing overt shared goals (and values - more on this later) ensures that the team are looking for opportunities to help, teach and develop with the team's performance first and foremost.

If you can foster these 4 dynamics in your team, I can guarantee you will see a lift in performance. In the next episode I'll go deeper down the team rabbit hole, with a focus specifically on agility. In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you think good teams need to succeed.