Zoom-Out on Teamwork

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

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

Teamwork 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 can 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.

“Zoom-Out on Teamwork” is a simple framework and set of cards that I developed to help myself and others to zoom-out on teamworking to see the bigger picture.

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

Each Zoom-Out on Teamwork card provides insights into a single aspect of what makes great teamwork work.

Aspects are grouped into related dimensions.

Collectively the dimensions & aspects help us consider the bigger picture.