Zoom-Out on Teamwork — Zoom-Out Blog

“Seeing and acting on what makes teamwork, work”

Teamwork is the bedrock of every organisation and of every team.

If you are working in an organisation, you are most likely working with other people to achieve something or supporting other people to achieve something, or both.

Teamworking exists in various contexts: single team; team of teams; across an organisation; within management; Senior Leadership Teams; Exec teams; coaching teams, etc.

For over 25 years, I’ve been building and optimising teamwork as a leader, manager, coach, and —perhaps most importantly— as a team member.

I’ve observed how we can become zoomed in on one aspect of team health or productivity and lose sight of the broader picture.

We can lose sight of the human system as a whole.

We may focus too much on one aspect of teamwork when, in reality, our attention would be better spent on something more relevant and impactful at that moment— such as the needs and interconnected dynamics of the people involved.

We may end up:

“barking up the wrong tree”
“focusing on the wrong tree in the forest”
“overlooking the space between the trees”
“neglecting to cultivate the soil the trees are living in”

For example:

Focusing on speed when there is a lack of trust.
Focusing on working smarter when there is a lack of diversity or inclusion.
Focusing on throughput when there is a lack of shared understanding.
Focusing on results when there is a lack of personal connection.
Focusing on deliverables when there is a lack of alignment.
Increasing the pressure to deliver when the support or resources needed are lacking.

Teamworkings is a simple framework and set of cards that I developed to help myself and others to zoom-out on the teams I am working with to help see the bigger picture.

To consider multiple factors, interconnections & root causes and the broader context.

The term Teamworkings should be read as a contraction of “the workings of teamwork” or “what makes teamwork work”.

Each Teamworkings card provides insights into a single aspect of what makes great teamwork work.

Aspects are grouped into related dimensions.

Collectively the cards (dimensions & aspects) help us view the bigger picture.

The 25 aspects of teamwork are grouped into 8 dimensions, which can be understood as:

Teamworkings Dimensions

“Truly great teamwork is
Strongly Bonded, Driven, Diverse & Inclusive, Smart & Innovative, Flexible, Optimally Structured, Craft-Mastering, and Greatly Supported.”

Expanding each dimension to reveal its aspects, we have:

Teamworkings Dimensions + Aspects

Truly great teamwork is:

Strongly Bonded through
Trust, Respect, Accountability and Personal Connection

Driven through
Purpose and Autonomy

Diverse & Inclusive through
Diversity, Collaboration, Psychological Safety, Equal Voice

Smart & Innovative through
Collective Intelligence, Creativity and Slack

Flexible through
Constructive Challenging, Resilience and Adaptability

Optimally Structured through
Optimal Topology and Balanced Roles

Craft-Mastering through
Shared Understanding, being Skilled, a Learning Culture, and being Disciplined

Greatly Supported through
Supportive Leadership, Continuous Coaching, and a Tailored Environment

With a splash of colour, dimensions on the left and aspects on the right, we have:

Using the cards

So how do we use the cards and the framework?

Using the three C’s of Clarify, Check & Cultivate:

Clarify > Check > Cultivate

Clarify
Use the cards to get super clear
on what makes teamwork work

Check
Use the cards as “lenses” to check
the various dimensions & aspects of teamwork
to determine where our focus should be

Cultivate
Use the cards to help cultivate
one or more aspects of teamwork
where needed

Return to step 1 or 2.
Did teamwork improve?
Repeat

Let’s dive into the cards!

Teamworkings Cards