Teamwork makes the dream work. You’ve heard this before right? But have you got what it takes to create a dream team?
Synergy is what sports coaches yearn for. It happens when the individual players become so much more formidable when they play together.
What’s wrong with your team?
Things aren’t perfect? In fact if you spend just a few seconds working out what is wrong you will no doubt have a flood of thoughts with very little effort. This is also true when it comes to teams. Try it for yourself. Grab a pen and pad of paper and make a list. What’s wrong with your team?
Many people think that dream teams are bought. You look out for the best players and bring them together. Except when this happens, eg in football, even a world class player becomes lack lustre with the wrong team around them. Teams cant be bought. You have to build them. This is critical in front line emergency services.
The “team” goes far beyond a bunch of individuals working together. It has to. You need synergy expanding through partners and key stakeholders to really make the work a dream. Who is on your wider team within the police? How about partners in the Crown Prosecution Service, NHS, Forensic Science Service, Social Care Services or even Court Services. Invest time to improve relationships and introduce your players the gift of building professional networks. The return on investment will be invaluable.
Optimum attitude and behaviour
The only thing wrong with teams anywhere is attitude and behaviour. Optimum attitude and behaviour comes from aligned values and strong leadership. Policing needs people who want to be leaders. We need people who take responsibility, and recognise the strength and value in all team members.
You cant make cow produce wool no matter how many courses you send it on. All the knowledge skills and understanding in the world wont make a difference and pretty soon you have an unproductive despondant worker looking for a way out. Coaching can help determine the values and goals of the players as well as the leader. Many leaders seek professional coaches and then forget the rest of the team. The ultimate goal of coaching is to develop powerful attitudes and behaviour that deliver independent, self motivated continuous development.
You have to work the team
In order to make the team work, you have to work the team in the way that is a dream for them. Detectives need to be challenged to solve complex problems to feel significant. Not mundane, high volume cases that will leave the bored and unfulfilled.
Emergency responders need emergences and life changing moments. Traffic officers need to save lives and injuries from the road. Dog handlers need opportunities to put their dogs to the test. Put a skilled dog handler in the CID for a month dealing with crime scenes, house to house enquiries and CCTV trawls and watch their spirit evaporate like water on a hot sunny day.
The problem isn’t the individual but the expectations of the role and the team around them. Moreover, it is the team leader who directs the starting line up. Leaders make the team work. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Motivation and purpose
hat doesn’t mean that all responsibility rests on the team leader. In fact, it is critical that each member carries out not only their weight of the duties, but the aspiration to do more. To learn, develop and grow as a team member. To refine or develop knowledge and skills to become the best at what they do. To define their key motivation and purpose and constantly look for opportunity to excel.
For the leader, the devil is in the big picture. All the cogs must fit and run off each other. For the front line the devil is in the detail, specificity and clarity. The team need to trust and believe in their leader as much as the leader must trust and develop their team.
Doing it right first time takes time, experience, a ton of mistakes and learning which means the leader must invest in development opportunities. Any investment in team development should include coaching, mentoring and training for each staff member.
When the team is ready they will lead themselves. The leader can step back and focus on the wider picture to drive the team to new goals. And just as quickly as the dream team is created, change waits eagerly to dismantle it and the cycle of team dynamics continues.
Comments