The popularity of the saying "win/win" speaks volumes – we all like to win. So let's define what "winning" means. And then let's turn that definition into a tool you can deploy as a brief agenda item for each team meeting or retrospective. You can deploy this tool immediately in your next team meeting. And it can pay huge dividends...

In one of my recent blog posts, Teamwork Basics: Creating Positive Interdependence in Groups, I offered three strategies you can use to get people feeling and acting like they are in the same boat together: Start shining the spotlight on the whole, not the pieces Solicit help shining the light Know the standard you are striving to achieve Building on...

The retrospective is a specific type of meeting in agile approaches that occurs at the end of an iteration in which the team reserves time and attention to discuss what worked well and what team members wish to improve during the next iteration. The basic process for an iteration retrospective is to gather the team for an hour (more or...

I was honored to be asked to give the keynote speech at Agile Day 2010 NYC in Times Square last month. I called it: "Are We As Agile as We Think?" Shared Responsibility Early in my speech I asked how many in the room are in a position of "shared responsibility" in their workplace. I asked: "Are you in a...

"Outcome interdependence" (i.e., linked fates or the feeling of being in the same boat together) -- not interpersonal attraction or the quality and quantity of communication -- is the number-one predictor of group cohesion and thus high-performance teamwork. In general, managers and leaders foster way too many feelings of negative interdependence in their organizations. That is an unintended consequence of...

This is the second part of my 2-part series about how clear and elevating goals help with teamwork. By "clear" I mean no measurements are needed to know that the goal is reached, and by "elevating" I mean the goal is bold and inspiring. Last week's post (Part 1) covered the first three points that are essential in this process,...

It's the million-dollar question... How do you get a team to develop a clear and elevating goal? By the way, by "clear" I  mean no measurements are needed to know that the goal is reached, and by "elevating" I mean the goal is bold and inspiring. The truth is, no one knows for sure how to get any team to...

Are you unhappy or frustrated at work? Have you thought this about your team: "I can't be responsible for the quality of my team's efforts." "Getting on a good team is mostly a matter of luck." "If I'm part of a poorly functioning team, and I'm not in charge, there is little I can do but bear it." These kinds...

Leading Knowledge Teams to be Agile With the advent of lean thinking and agile methods, the old command-and-control structures are giving way to self-directed teams. Uncovering what makes these teams function effectively and what enhances or inhibits  collaboration are questions of growing importance. Teamwork does not depend on group-bonding or a facilitator's magic art. Teamwork is actually based on individual skills...

I was on Amazon last week grabbing the link for my book to send someone when I realized the product I was looking at was not the paperback version of Teamwork Is An Individual Skill but the Kindle version. I feel fortunate that the book is still in print and selling as strong as ever, so I guess it made...