EcoSeagate
Today’s leaders are
being challenged to provide leadership in new and changing conditions. Teams are
being seen as a way to organize professional work, but high-performing work
teams does not happen by an edict from upper management or the people in
strategic planning restructuring the company. It comes with deliberate planning
and training, taking years to implement. Members of an effective
team are open, honest, supportive, trustworthy, cooperative, collaborative,
committed to team’s goals, working in an environment where decisions are
reached by consensus and where communications channels are open and well
developed (Brown,
2011).
One of the techniques
used for team development is outdoor experiential laboratory training. Seagate
Technology, for instance, used this technique to show the value
of teamwork (a lab called EcoSeagate) and also to change the perception that
employees had in top leaders of the company, whom, in their perspective, used a
punishment culture to get things done. Some factors, in my opinion, made this
technique valuable for the organization, as:
1. Diversity
on participants (diversity on background, culture and expertise is crucial for
groups being considered a team and make quality decisions)
2. Small
groups (division of participants in small groups for higher effectiveness)
3. Planning
(high structured and planned lab)
4. Subjects
(Chao, 2008) - (topics covered and their variety cohesive with teamwork. E.g. conflict,
commitment, accountability, trust, so forth. )
5. Resilience
on Value vs Money (CEO resilient under high pressure from stockholders)
Team development aims to
integrate the individual’s and group’s goals to the goals of the organization. Team building and
development is used to increase communication, cooperation and cohesiveness, consequently
increasing productivity and effectiveness (Brown, 2011). In high-performing
teams it is still necessary to develop a team as the comfort-zone may lead the
members to the traps of groupthink, stated by Brown (p.268) as illusion of invulnerability,
of morality, of unanimity, rationalization, shared stereotypes, self-censorship,
mind guards and direct pressure, affecting the group awareness of possible
internal and external threats. Because team development covers dynamic aspects as
competition, diversity, group processes and intergroups relationships, team development
is high-performing teams is even more crucial.
My organization, being
highly complex and extremely impacted by external forces operating in an interdependent
internal environment, could definitely benefit from a corporate bootcamp as EcoSeagate.
The main reason I believe in its potential outcome is due to the structure of
this external lab, having diversity on expertise and ranked positions as a
rule, and a small group nature giving an opportunity for closer relationships.
I work in a diverse company where its employees come from a highly diverse culture
and background and operate mainly in large groups. Decision are made by few and
forced downwards and although collaboration is often espoused, it is rarely practiced.
Safe platform is boycotted by high leader, consequently communication does not
flow on its full potential. This type of technique would allow a change in
perspective from all ranks and increase the trust among collaborators.
References
Brown, D. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Chao, M. (2008, April 25). EcoSeagate 2008 1/3. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCOfOFMiLtE&feature=youtu.be
Chao, M. (2008, April 26. EcoSeagate
2008 2/3. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etwuap-_Azk&feature=youtu.be
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