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Too Much of a Good Thing: Can Teamwork Damage Productivity?

Posted on 04/20/2015 by ·
Too Much of a Good Thing: Can Teamwork Damage Productivity? by Laura Stack

Back in the 1890s, French researcher Max Ringelmann discovered what others later called the Ringelmann effect[1]: The larger a workgroup, the more likely workers will waste time rather than get their work done. Not only do they socialize more, they also expect others to pick up the slack. This remains true today: small workgroups tend to produce more per person than larger ones. Many entrepreneurs have taken this to heart, including Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com. According to his "Two-Pizza Rule", a team or meeting should contain no more people than it would take to feed with two large pizzas. Bezos sets the number at 5-8. Why so few? Partially because the more channels of communication involved, the greater the likelihood for confusion. To answer the title question, clearly there are … [Read more...]

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Fostering an Effective Collaborative Team Culture

Posted on 03/27/2015 by ·

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro, shares ideas on encouraging a great team culture. (C) 2015 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

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Letting Go: The Benefits of Sharing Responsibility

Posted on 03/16/2015 by ·
Letting Go: The Benefits of Sharing Responsibility by Laura Stack #productivity

We've all encountered people who wield their power like a club, whether they work in corporate or government jobs. Until relatively recently, most organizations were hierarchical, and most lower-level workers had little power or autonomy. As new technology has loosened managerial control, this has eased somewhat. While workers exhibit a greater willingness and ability to execute strategy, managers nonetheless often remain reluctant to share responsibility and authority. It may be that in our secret hearts, we all believe the right thing to do is to hold onto all the power we can, especially as we rise into the executive ranks. When you were a kid, your parents probably made you share your toys. You may have done the same with your own kids. However, most people don’t want to share … [Read more...]

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Five Things Your Coworkers Wish You Knew

Posted on 01/06/2015 by ·
Five Things Your Coworkers Wish You Knew by Laura Stack #productivity

"There's no "I" in team." -- Classic American teamwork slogan. "No, but there's a 'me' if you move a few letters around." -- Sarcastic response. When was the last time you worked completely alone, with no one to help you? Unless you're an impoverished artist starving in a garret somewhere, the answer's probably "never." No matter what our career tracks or work disciplines, nearly all of us depend on other people to help and back us up. Even people who work far afield, like explorers and archaeologists, tend to work in groups or depend on a support team back home. Those of us who work in white-collar jobs rarely work alone. Even if you telecommute, you still belong to a team. As such, you and your coworkers will inevitably experience friction, whether you serve as team leader or … [Read more...]

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The Teamwork Triangle

Posted on 05/06/2014 by ·
The Teamwork Triangle by Laura Stack #productivity

Building a reliable workplace team requires you to guide loyalty and productivity through a careful process. To help team members learn to work together effectively and fruitfully, I propose a three-point Teamwork Triangle: 1. Mutual trust and respect. Everyone must trust the other team members to do their jobs, respectfully considering their opinions, ideas, skills, and talents. When a software designer points out something won't work because the team lacks the right hardware, don't brush off their concerns. Buy what you need or modify your plans. 2. Results. If you can't achieve your goals, nothing else matters. Who cares how great your code-monkey is if he never delivers his work on time to the writer who produces your technical manuals? Sure, spring into action, staying flexible … [Read more...]

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Teaching Self-Discipline: Controlling Non-Productive Urges at the Team Level

Posted on 01/14/2014 by ·
Teaching Self-Discipline: Controlling Non-Productive Urges at the Team Level by Laura Stack

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." -- Jesse Owens, American Olympic athlete. I love Robert Orben's famous quip, "Don't smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much, or work too much. We're all on the road to the grave—but there's no need to be in the passing lane." Most folks see this statement as a warning to take care of yourself and do everything in moderation. But like all good humor, it contains multiple levels—and when you get right down to it, Orben's statement is also about championing self-discipline over self-indulgence. Many Americans know Orben best for his newsletter Orben's Current Comedy, where he introduced tens of thousands of gags over the years. Back in … [Read more...]

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Strengthen the Beam

Posted on 12/19/2013 by ·
Strengthen the Beam by Laura Stack #productivity

Once you've optimized the force you apply to the strategic execution lever, you'll need to make sure the lever itself can handle the force before you apply it too vigorously. In our leverage model, the lever's beam represents your employees, both individually and collectively. The best way to strengthen the beam of your organizational lever is to have the right people in the right places, armed with the skills they need to execute in the moment and get the job done. It’s up to you to strengthen each team member's ability to execute strategy in every way possible. 1. Balance talent and hard work. Find the person with the right strengths needed to maximize the Personal Return on Investment (PROI) for each job on your team. Talent is a wonderful thing, but let's face it: it's useless … [Read more...]

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Whistling Up an Orchestra: The Value of Teamwork in the Workplace

Posted on 11/14/2013 by ·
Whistling Up an Orchestra: The Value of Teamwork in the Workplace by Laura Stack #productivity

"There's no I in team, but there is in win." -- Michael Jordan, American basketball player. Those of us who gravitate toward leadership in business organizations—or create our own businesses as entrepreneurs—tend to be the independent sort. It seems ironic, then, that we achieve our highest levels of productivity only when we come together as teams. The fact remains that human beings are social creatures. We couldn't have been otherwise and risen to become this planet's dominant species. Nearly everything worthwhile we've achieved has come about as a result of team effort. Even those we often perceive as lone-wolf geniuses—people like Einstein, Mozart, and Da Vinci—worked in a collaborative milieu (e.g., science and music) or surrounded themselves with talented people they could … [Read more...]

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Teamwork Accountability Tips

Posted on 10/14/2013 by ·
Teamwork Accountability Tips by Laura Stack #productivity

When you're part of a team, each member affects your productivity and schedule. When others fail to get answers to you, you may be late producing the final product. When you rely on coworkers to review a document before proceeding, a month can go by before you have everyone's input. As leader, it's in your best interest to prod your team to get things done more efficiently, so you can produce better results in less time with fewer frustrations. One way to increase everyone's response time is to arrange a meeting with your team at the beginning of each project, so you can plan it through to the end. Lay out milestones, discuss each member's responsibilities, and set firm deadlines. Outline what you need from each person and when, and have them do the same for you. Do your best to be … [Read more...]

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The Teamwork Triangle: Building a Reliable Workplace Team

Posted on 09/25/2013 by ·
The Teamwork Triangle: Building a Reliable Workplace Team by Laura Stack #productivity

"Teamwork is the quintessential contradiction of a society grounded in individual achievement." — Marvin Weisbord, American organizational development expert. "Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare." -- Patrick Lencioni, American author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Many productivity experts focus on individual productivity, even though few of us actually work completely alone. With rare exceptions, each of us fills a slot in a team focused on specific tasks and projects. Team productivity is as crucial as personal productivity, if not more so; but it can be difficult to maintain, since a workplace team can only be as strong as its weakest link. Accordingly, it's your … [Read more...]

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