The first couple of years of youth soccer can be comical and frustrating. The tendency for new players is to chase the ball around the field in a beehive formation. The coaches and parents are yelling, “spread out, play your position, don’t bunch.” There are times at work when I want to shout the exact encouraging directions, “not everyone is needed at this meeting, don’t send that email to everyone, and why is so-n-so working on this?” Managers and senior engineers are often guilty of being attracted to problems like eight-year-olds to a soccer ball.
I submit that beehive management is indicative of a total lack of teamwork often due to one of the following: a poor responsibility matrix, members lack confidence in their team members, and the leader recognizing superstars above collaboration. The first one is easy to fix. Every project leader should have a simple and communicated responsibility matrix as part of their project charter. A responsibility matrix is also a great visual aid. Post it, refer to it, and if necessary, enforce it.
As for team cohesiveness, get out there and coach. Encourage good lines of communication. Set examples of what general information the entire group needs and what detailed information should be worked on by the responsible individuals. Develop a team that is reliant on each other. Apply Lean to the team’s communication and meetings: do your daily team meetings, reduce the number of send-to-all and reply-to-all emails, and coordinate meeting attendances. Communication is the first step towards trust.
Finally, develop a championship team. I want a team that can respond quickly and efficiently independent of vacations, illness, or over commitments. Team members’ responsibilities should be clear, but do not let a responsibility matrix become an excuse for not having coverage; rotate assignments so that others will learn the different aspects of the team, designate back-ups, do what works best. The goal is to develop a team and processes, so members understand their responsibilities, know how to backup teammates, and are confident in their team performance.