Here is my takeaway #28 from one of the most useful practical books in my field, “Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager”:
28) “Project Management Proverb: A cadence of visibility and accountability produces not only reliable results again and again, but also a high-performance team.”
“A cadence is a steady rhythm. Have you ever worked on a team that felt ‘in rhythm’ or ‘in the flow’? How would you describe it?”
“This cadence is the key to excellent execution. A team in cadence is going to win. Everybody knows what’s expected when, and how to achieve it; no one person is responsible, no one person gets the glory or takes the fall. Everybody is moving forward together; anyone who needs help gets the whole team’s support.”
Note: This comes from Chapter 5 “Executing the Project: Clear the Path or Fall on Your Face?” (pages 133-134)
At this point in the book, it starts touching on “shared” accountability. I have expressed my disdain for the word “accountability” in previous chapters when applied incorrectly. Adding “shared” or “team” in front of the word helps change the game and helps your team members control what they can control, rather than being stuck with the blame game, like it or not.
I compare project management to juggling. There are three actions in juggling: 1) The Throw, 2) The Rhythm, and 3) The Catch. Your two hands must share one more ball than you have hands for it to qualify as juggling as this is the reason why one ball must go in motion up into the air to free up the other hand. Your right hand must know what the left hand is doing at all times. Since your one brain accounts for the actions of your two hands you at least know what you want your hands to do. Then add another person. Now you are juggling six balls between you. (I used to do that in the juggling club at college.) The first throw sets the arc, the second sets the pace, and the third completes the cycle, if you catch all three, or err…6. At this stage in the game, we are focusing on the rhythm and cadence scaled up or not.
The proverb above is awesome if a team is functioning as a team, otherwise the trust between people doing their own parts breaks down, the rhythm gets thrown off, and the project falls apart. Have you ever watched a basketball team of superstars struggle to win games against less talented teams? Team USA in the Olympics comes to mind.
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STORY TIME:
Since the world of basketball started catching up with the NBA and fielding teams with professional players in the Olympics, the USA took an approach of, “If you can’t beat them join them.” In 1992, the “Dream Team” era was born. That first team has often been described as the greatest sports team ever assembled. The Americans were undefeated in 58 games and 3 Olympics (1992, 1996, 2000).
And then things started changing. The NBA itself started getting a lot of All Star talent from other countries. Professional leagues in other countries improved. But mainly, teams in other countries with good, but not necessarily great players, played together as a team and matured together as a team having played many games together prior, and they won together as a team. Team USA is thrown together last minute, by comparison, without much familiarity with one another. They often resort to hero ball to get them out of trouble. Sometimes it works. Sometime not. In 2004, Team USA never fully got in sync with one another, lost 3 games, and ended up with a Bronze medal at the Olympics.
Team USA is no longer expected to win every game. They still bring in top talent, but they are up against more top talent with more team experience gelling together in high-level games, and Team USA isn’t expected to reach their full potential. Still, Team USA has one of the best chances of controlling its fate, if it learned from and remembers some lessons from 2004.
For project work like this situation, not only does an organization have to take greater care and attention to initiatives and organizing temporary dream teams, a coach has to adapt his style of management for the conditions, a cobbled-together team has to learn how to become a cohesive unit in a quick amount of time, and there are a lot of things to learn “on the fly”, such as sharing the ball and playing team defense (in basketball terms), against whatever risks and issues (in project terms) you come up against in international competition (more unknowns).
Warning: Your business is competing on a world stage. Your team players should not be pitted against one another on projects they work together on, in order to move up the corporate ladder. You don’t have time for that distraction. Competing against each other like that is not a healthy competition anyway, and it will end up sabotaging your own team and any efforts toward teamwork.
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I have experienced the sweet sensation of being in sync and on beat with my teams and each of us being attuned to the fluidity of the game and one another’s actions (especially on sport’s teams). It’s exhilarating and fulfilling above any individual feats. I hope to make this reality a less rare occurrence for other teams out there. I have seen more struggles than not with teams in business that can’t figure it out.
It’s a huge challenge because it only takes one person working against the team, knowingly or unknowingly, to mess things up. The more authority a person has in the organization, the more influence they have for better or worse, so key players above you in the pecking order can make it really great or really difficult, especially from where an “unofficial” project manager is sitting. But we all know it’s possible to rise above mediocrity as individuals, teams, and organizations. We can do it!
Unicorns exist! Well, at least in business they do, and that is a result of rising up as one team, with one purpose, one set of goals, and one shared approach at project managing the game plan to get to the top of your game together game by game! Get in rhythm! Play it out!