A great team isn’t just a group of superstars working side by side, we have proof of that from the 2004 U.S. Men’s Basketball Team. Known as the “Dream Team”, on paper, they were supposed to win the gold medal by a LOT, but lost 3 games by a big margin and ended up taking the bronze medal home. Even though they were a super group of all-stars, they were young and lacked the time and effort to work on building a sense of team. Most importantly, they were playing a game they knew well, but in an international style of play that emphasized teamwork, moving the ball around, and outside shooting, which they didn’t have. Simply put, they were a group of individuals trying to play a team sport, and it didn’t end well.
We can learn from this when we think about teams in a business or professional setting. How is your team built? How would you describe the relationships? How do you communicate together?
Is it more of a relay race where runners pass a baton, or more of a jazz band where musicians feel and respond to each other’s rhythms?
This idea of a jazz ensemble highlights an important concept – interdependence. Not a word we throw around often, it sums up a relationship built on connection, collaboration, reliance – and a piece that’s not talked about – personal risk.
To build interdependence within a team, the group of people has to take personal risk. They’re making a bet that focusing on the team’s shared goal will be better than their individual pursuits.
Unfortunately, many leaders focus on individual performance within their teams and elevate this personal risk beyond what most are willing to commit to. Each person is responsible for their piece of the puzzle, and not the relationship between the pieces. A leader promotes individual thinking by leading meetings in more of a monologue, or a series of status checks in front of the rest of the group – “what’s your status on your task? why didn’t you finish your piece?” I’ve often said it’s like watching a one-on-one with an audience.
When team members can rally around a shared purpose (why do we exist?) and focus on shared goals – embracing the personal risk they’re all taking – shared responsibility emerges. You can feel it. It’s important, it’s taken seriously. They want to win together. And because of that feeling, shared accountability happens. They pick each other up, balance themselves, notice each other more, and hold each other to the work they’ve committed to. They naturally stay on track – producing the song they want in the end.
A team that’s only as strong as their leader is a fragile team. A team that’s as strong as its relationships is a resilient one, it’s unshakable. What can leaders do to help interdependence grow within a team?
1 // Clarify and refresh a shared purpose. A team should have a reason to rely on each other, not just coexist. Try to frame goals as challenges that need the collective intelligence of the team to solve. Tap into the wisdom of the team.
2 // Shift from leader-led to peer-led responsibility and accountability. Encourage team members to check-in with each other before defaulting to the leader for guidance and direction.
3 // Practice interdependence, with rituals. Build habits like joint problem-solving sessions, rotate ownership of big initiatives, and reflect together often on what you’ve learned. Practice things together.
This elusive but dreamy interdependence doesn’t happen automatically. You can’t wish it in place. It comes from a purposeful design of practices, it’s reinforced and refreshed if the team starts to drift, and it’s lived daily.
What’s one small shift you can make this week to help your team rely on each other more?
Here are a few resources that I’ve found interesting and have been sharing lately with clients:
1 // This talk is 50 years old, but a timeless deep-dive into empathy. Thank you, Carl. (14 min video)
https://hbr.org/2013/12/the-three-pillars-of-a-teaming-culture2 // There are 3 simple pillars of a teaming culture – as Amy Edmondson explains. (3 min read)
3 // Appreciation is free fuel for teams. The Long and The Short Of It dives into appreciation more. (20 min podcast)
