Naomi had several sheets in front of her, spread out like a game of solitaire. “I don’t understand,” she remarked. “I thought I had this group nailed together.”
I dug deep into my bag of diagnostic questions and asked, “How so?”
“Our company has really been working hard this year on teamwork. We know that higher levels of cooperation and cross support make a big difference on our output. I thought I had this team dialed in, but sometimes cooperation seems to be the last thing on their mind.”
“What makes you think you had this team dialed in?” I asked.
Naomi was quick to respond, “Oh, we started out this year with a big retreat, back when we had budget for it. It was a great team building experience. We had a ropes course and we did group games. I mean, we didn’t sing Kumbaya, but, you know, it was a great weekend. Everyone came out of there feeling great.”
“And how long did you expect that to last?” I probed.
“Well, the consultant told us we needed to create some sort of team bonus, you know, where every one depends on the rest of the team to get a little something extra at the end. That way, if one makes it, they all make it. Shared fate, he called it.”
“I see. And how is that working out for you?” -TF
In most types of businesses, shared fate is a reality regardless of the culture of the company. If the results depend on intergroup cooperation and focus, then why not have an incentive system that is based on the same principle?
it has worked well for our company, both in good times and bad.
bk
A lot of companies buy into the group bonus incentive program and think that it helps promote team work and cooperation and that the positive people will spur on the negative. The reality is however, that the negative people or the people who do not put forth as much effort or keep others on the team from meeting their individual goal on the project have a much larger impact. Resentment builds,finger pointing ensues and projects begin their deathmarch. Team Accountability is always someone else’s fault.
A team building program will allow employees to overcome their differences in order to come together with a specific goal in mind to achieve the results that are required. Direct Effect offers combination of different types of team building activities like Olympics on site, Ropes Course or corporate boot camp will allow these goals to be accomplished in the simplest and safest format possible.