Great Teams? Google's Survey Says...
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Great teams aren't rocket science - but Google decided to study what makes them tick. What did they find? Great teams have five things in common.:
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What do they expect?
Google defines "Structure and Clarity" as:
an individual’s understanding of job expectations, the process for fulfilling these expectations, and the consequences of one’s performance.
They recommend setting specific, challenging and attainable goals for both short and long term, at the individual and group levels, Let's break this definition down a little to see how it translates to actions.
an individual’s understanding of job expectations, the process for fulfilling these expectations, and the consequences of one’s performance.
They recommend setting specific, challenging and attainable goals for both short and long term, at the individual and group levels, Let's break this definition down a little to see how it translates to actions.
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Understanding
Understanding job expectations requires clear roles with clear goals, and plans of specific actions with timelines. That's ideal, but not always our reality. Who's responsibility is it to ensure understanding? The manager's? The employee's? The organization's? We already know the answer is all three. Understanding requires communication, participation and evaluation. There are starring roles for all players in each of those elements. The first two make the last possible, and go a long way to letting us work flexibly when understanding is grey. |
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Processes
Processes include which tasks get performed, by whom and in which order, when they are finished, and all the tools used at each step. That's a huge part of your business to tackle! So, why not take it in bite-sized chunks, just in time? Perfect processes may be a long-shot at best, but we know that even small steps towards better processes can enhance both productivity and satisfaction, not to mention communication, trust and dependability. |
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Consequences
That word, "consequences," feels a little punitive to us - we like to say "outcomes." Outcomes of performance can include quality goals met, timelines achieved, stakeholders informed, dependent processes triggered, and other specific goals. Actions can also breed unmeasured outcomes - relationships enhanced (or damaged), process intentions honoured (or circumvented), or adjoining processes supported (or broken). Finally, consequences tie back to the most basic fundamental of human behaviour - rewards and punishments. Preferably rewards. |
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Unintended Consequence
Sometimes an unintended outcome of structure leads to suppression of creativity, risk-taking and passion on your teams. Structure in the forms of policies, processes and procedures take out the guess-work and create clear pathways for performance. At the same time, rules and process requirements can limit actions, create delays, fail when gaps aren't recognized, and add to the overall frustration. They can also limit people's opportunities to practice practical decision making and critical thinking. |
Structure/Restructure
Emergent Process Development identifies and works with the organization's natural energy to build processes that truly support teams and individuals for effective execution. As a rule of thumb, every process should earn its keep - that is, processes should not cost more to maintain than they save in cost, time or opportunity cost.
Emergent Process Development identifies and works with the organization's natural energy to build processes that truly support teams and individuals for effective execution. As a rule of thumb, every process should earn its keep - that is, processes should not cost more to maintain than they save in cost, time or opportunity cost.
But what about Clarity?
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It's tempting to assume that, if we just write it all down, make great process diagrams, create balanced scorecards, track dashboards, set SMART goals and measure the outcomes, that we have clarity.
But it's possible we have less actual clarity about what matters to our business than we did before we had any way to track it. Clarity means stepping back to see the patterns in the bigger systems we engage. It requires setting aside specific time to talk, formally and informally, about what's really going on, and how the structures and goals correlate to the reality of daily work. |
Your needs are unique to you. Let's talk about how to bring more structure and clarity without losing the essence of creativity, innovation and value. Book a free consultation today!
All graphics ©CD Good and Cheryl Ives 2016