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Once
again - team spirit succeeds…
We
have followed Formula One for the last few years and enjoyed
watching the great success that Mclaren have achieved. We have
been reviewing and thinking about how successful teams have
worked on becoming better teams. We would place Mclaren as one
and now Brawn GP. The margin between success and failure in
Formula 1 is tiny - even this weekend - Lewis Hamilton probably
lost the European GP through an error by the pit crew. Great
teamwork makes the difference.
For
this latest newsletter, we wanted to look at how Brawn GP have
risen, phoenix-like from the ashes of Honda. Given the challenges
that has beset the Brawn team, it seems remarkable that they
now sit firmly at the top of the drivers and constructors tables.
We have been taking a look at how Brawn function as a team.
Firstly, it is our experience that teams that face a challenge
- Honda pulling out of F1 was a major challenge - usually pull
together. The term "comrades in adversity" has been true over
many years.
Attributes
of Teams with Purpose
In
reviewing Brawn GP, we have contrasted what we have found out
against the attributes of "Purposeful Teams". The attributes
include:
- Clear and shared purpose
- Leadership
- Level of team engagement
and commitment
- Quality of Goods and
Services
- Team interactions
- Use of resources
- Performance Measurement
driving improvement
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Clear
and shared purpose
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Meaningful
challenge At the start of the 2009/10 F1 season, the Brawn
GP team, having emerged from the Honda Racing team had the
following clear goals: " Getting a competitive car out on
the track " Cutting costs to make the team viable " Seeking
sponsors- now has a major sponsor in Virgin. Others must
be kicking themselves for not seeing the potential sooner.
Sponsoring Brawn GP is probably more expensive today that
at the start of the year. Beyond this season, Brawn GP will
be developing a new car for next season and beyond. There
medium-term goals are: " Winning F1(which may happen in
the first year. This will be a remarkable achievement) "
Continue to develop a winning car and a winning team |
| Leadership
|
Ross Brawn
has a proven track record of winning - he won championships
with both Benneton and Ferrari. He worked alongside Michael
Schumacher. Ross Brawn was asked a number of questions on
their official site. He talks about the being "immensely
proud of the great spirit and fortitude that I have witnessed
in the factory over the course of the past few months".
He also talks about the close working of the senior management
team through this sale period. If the senior team is dysfunctional,
it is certain that the organisation will be. |
| Level
of team engagement & commitment |
The team
has pulled together - brought on by the withdrawal of Honda.
An example of the commitment is Jenson Button. He commented
at the time that he was fully committed to the team - he
would drive for nothing if he needed to. |
| Quality
of Goods and Services |
Cars designed
by Ross Brawn have proved to be winning cars over the years.
The team has designed and built a car that is out performing
the other teams. Rules play an important part in any organisation
- what is key is seeing how you can push the rules to your
advantage without breaking them. The diffuser row saw how
Brawn had developed a winning car that met the rules. Since
the diffuser was declared legal, many teams have designed
and placed a revised diffuser on their cars. Brawn have
continued to win - so it is not simply one bit of technology
giving the advantage but the whole package. The cars are
highly reliable and continue to perform well against their
rivals, especially when the track tempreture is high - they
are, I am certain working on getting the same performance
in cooler conditions. Of course, winning teams such as Mclaren
Mercedes have not been idle. They too have been focusing
on getting their "product" right. To win in F1, a team has
to have a commitment to constant improvement (quality).
Get your product and services right and you too could be
a "winning" team. |
| Team
interactions |
The same focus on
improving quality, also is true with regard to team interactions.
Our top 5 tips for improving team interactions:
1. Train all team
members in the standards of behaviour of the team's communication,
response and interaction. Develop a clear set of expectations
surrounding:
- Attitude
- Speed of Response
- Gossiping
- Politicking
Break these and it
should be grounds for expulsion from the team. When Rubens
Barrichello launched an attack on the team, following
problems in the pit, Ross Brawn tackled the issue head-on
and made it clear his disappointment at the way a member
of the team was showing a poor attitude. It will be interesting
to see if Barrichello is still driving for the team after
this season.
2. Involve the team
in choosing the team leader. The team leader has to develop
the confidence of the team.
3. Ensure the team
know what is important for success. Ensure highly visible
recording of success - daily/weekly reporting - that is
visible to the team. It is important to keep it simple
and engaging for staff.
4. Ensure that the
team captures ideas - someone should be responsible for
capturing suggestions. The team must be kept informed
of what happened with the ideas.
5. Team meetings should
be at least monthly and the agenda focused on how the
team can work better together. This must be the only item
on the agenda. Three items to include in your ground rules
(see 1).
- Any unresolved
conflicts between team members must be resolved before
the next meeting.
- Each team member
must bring at least one suggestion that will improve
team effectiveness to each team meeting.
- Team meetings
are to be exciting and not reporting back sessions.
If there are no suggestions from the team - the team
leader must come with a problem/idea to discuss.
This will have the
benefit of making the meeting more positive and focus
on improvement. Finally, the leader celebrates and recognises
successes - allow the team to socialise use the team meetings
to improve relationships.
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| Use
of resources |
We work extensively
in the public sector and find that the pre-occupation
with efficiency is resulting in a headlong pursuit of
poor quality service. Saving money is essential - the
public sector cannot survive on just cost-cutting alone.
It will have to start looking at new sources of income.
We may not like it, but efficiency may not mean effectiveness.
Better use of resources is essential. How many building
sit idle for most of the time, only being occupied during
the day. Time to think differently.
This is what makes
Brawn stand out - they are just efficient - they are effective.
They do not have the resources of say Ferrari or Mclaren.
When the team was owned by Honda, they trained staff in
creativity techniques. They used this technique to focus
on effectiveness - how do they out perform the competition.
Many teams are revisiting this powerful technique to enhance
performance.
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| Performance
Measurement driving improvement |
Any team needs to
create a set of success measures. Having been working
with the ECB (English and Wales Cricket Board) on 360
degree feedback and team development for a key team responsible
for developing grass roots cricket, it is evident that
winning teams use performace measurement as part of driving
improvement. They are not stuck on the rejection of targets.
As part of this, we
have jointly developed a 360 degree approach based on
Edward De Bono's six thinking hats.
| White
Hat |
Objective
Data |
- Financial
results
- Operational
data (number of customers and satisfaction data)
- Project results
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| Red
Hat |
Feelings |
- Perceptions
of results and team effectiveness
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| Yellow
Hat |
Benefits,
Positive data |
- Strengths
from self assessments
- View of other
people/groups of the strengths of team
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| Black
Hat |
Weaknesses
and Risks |
- Areas for
improvement from self assessments
- View of others
of areas for improvement
- Risk Logs
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| Green
Hat |
New
ideas |
- Team Suggestions
- Innovations
and best practices in use by team
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| Blue
Hat |
Structure
and Organisation |
- Action plans
to harness strengths and tackle areas for improvement/risks
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Most teams focus on
a limited set of data, often the pure financial and operational
data.
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It
is these ingredients that has helped make Brawn GP a winning
team. It must also be recognised that they are of course also
brim full of talent. The team at Brawn are highly talented individuals.
It is how they meld as a team that will translate talent into
results.
More
research on another successful team in the next newsletter.
It is possibly the England Cricket Team - well done for winning
the Ashes!
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News
Current
Activity
1. ECB where
we are running 360 degree feedback and team development activity
for a key team within the Cricket Board. It is fun to move into
the sporting arena wholesale. They are a great team. Cannot
take any credit for the Ashes Win. It is, however, a pleasure
working for a winning team.
2. Lambeth
Council - helping support their transformation of social care.
This is a major change initiative and I am helping with development
the change plan and communications activity. They are currently
behind where they perhaps should be, however, the team is starting
to come up on the outside rail and will ultimately achieve success.
3. Nene Park
Trust - a small organisation responsible for running a lovely
Country Park in Peterborough. We are helping support the team
as they develop changes that affect the whole trust. Another
team with huge potential for success - they have the ingredients
to rival the best in leisure and park business.
Team
Building with a Purpose
I am working
on a new team development programme designed around the efficiency/effectiveness
agenda. In these challenging times, effectiveness is essential.
This two day programme utilises a "business game" to challenge
the team to look at how effective they are and challenges in
a creative manner. This is being developed in partnership with
a great coach/colleague - Steve Wood who is also an actor, Quality
Guru and superb facilitator. We plan to have this available
by Autumn 2009. Give me a call if you are interested. Free Taster
Sessions " I am offering free 90 minute taster sessions of any
of my workshops. These include: " Change Management " Leadership
Development " Time Management " Influence and Persuasion " Presentation
Skills " Personal Development and Change To book one of these
sessions, just call me.
And
now for something completely different…..
The Other
Business...
Craig
Williams Photography
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