Focusing on the team & the individual

GetConnectance
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

Another TED Talk that got me thinking was that of Margaret Heffernan (a former CEO of 5 businesses)

In her talk “Why it’s time to forget the pecking order at work “, Margaret Heffernan talks about how companies should move away from focusing on super chickens, where only a few dominate to a socially connected environment where the team matters and not the individuals.

When I heard that, I wondered what companies should do now? Throw away their talent grids which peg high potential & high performers and to which it aligns its retention strategies? Should the focus just be on the team, like in agile methodology, everyone in the team matters & not just one individual? Or should we look for a balance between the two? How do we take care of the individuals while taking care of the team?

Margaret talks about creating a “culture of helpfulness”- where people are okay not knowing everything and asking for help.

Margaret also talks about “social connectedness”- a “collective restoration”, where everyone interacts with the others and shares their thoughts during coffee breaks, terrace gardening as well… It is not about social collaboration tools, not a reliance on technology, but good old face to face conversations wherever and whenever possible.

I found “culture of helpfulness” particularly striking since we often speak of teamwork which in itself embodies a lot of other aspects — camaraderie, respect for one another, working together cohesively towards a common goal and somewhere in all of this, the part about being helpful gets lost.

“Culture of helpfulness” is a straightforward phrase with little room for misinterpretation and that is what is needed. Asking and receiving help without feeling inadequate or superior.

So how do we link this to taking care of the individual while taking care of the team?

Our talent grids are mostly about potential & performance & we include people skills as one of the many attributes that we would consider while pegging them in a category. If we wanted to create a “culture of helpfulness”, what if we brought people/team focus to the forefront in line with potential & performance? So even if the individual is a “star” in the domain/technology, if he is not creating a culture of helpfulness or focusing on his success rather than the teams, he would not be considered a true “star”.

At an organisation I worked with, our reward guidelines stated that rewards should not be given to only the people who performs last minute heroics to get the job done. This was to promote the culture of the team rather than the reliance on a few individuals or the superstars or as Margaret puts it “super chickens”. At the end of the day, the team needs to feel valued & not just one individual.

When it comes to social connectedness, I feel HR plays a big role. No, it’s not the “event manager” role that they are called to play…it’s about HR being an “opportunity maker” (read my earlier post on the topic) — This goes beyond the annual parties, the birthday celebrations…but more towards creating avenues where like-minded people can collaborate, finding ways where the management acknowledges that social bonding will foster creativity and enhance profitability, finding ways where people are more driven and energized and most of all increase social capital.


Originally published at connectance.in.

Connectance

Connectance partners with leaders of SMEs, Start ups, Social Entrepreneurs and NGOs to build humane and unique organizations.

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GetConnectance

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Connectance

Connectance partners with leaders of SMEs, Start ups, Social Entrepreneurs and NGOs to build humane and unique organizations.

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