Tag: Teamwork

From Co-worker to Co-llaborator

Some workplace didn’t even get to that phase.

People just share a parking lot, a refrigerator and maybe a Christmas Party.

Meanwhile, you can collaborate with  people miles apart, in different languages and time zones.

Welcome to the new work place. MNC’s have gone through this phase. From relocation to repatriation.

Employees got shifted around, to cross-pollinate and get cross-trained.

Management just hope for collaboration. They can organize people into teams, build them and encourage cohesiveness. But ultimately, the decision lies in each member. To help one another as fellow sojourners.

Times are hard.

I guess companies are hoarding cash, and get the most productivity from their employees.

The next and last step is to optimize team work and output.

Managers will need to turn themselves into leaders of team. Resolving those conflicts, working with diversity in cultures and expectations, and reward both strong and not-so-strong personalities. Teams need both the weak and the strong.

Just as society does.

For the period between WWII and  these past 2 wars, we in the US have lived off the glory of the past: GI bills and Dollar bills.

Now, with a stronger China and Japan sliding (though still an industrial power might), we need to acknowledge to ourselves that the playing field has been unleveled (this past Olympic screamed this message loud and clear).

Need to teach our next generation how to do things, fix things, and not jut buying things ( often times from the credits China and the Oil-rich countries extended to us).

In fact, some of the most basic life skills such as being courteous, being kind, paying it forward, saving, eating healthy, basic math and science and geography-history, need to be taught. Other digital skills such as texting, playing games, computer operation and programming, will come as given.

In short, new combination of skills are required for survival in this new age.

I am thinking of SMS contest vs hot-dog-eating contest. The former stays with us for quite a while, and the latter can be let go (nice and fun tradition, but it encourages gluttony).

Back to collaboration. People who work together need to make teams work.

And when team works, companies reap the benefits of happy collaborators.

You will be amazed how one creative idea sparks another one, and another one. 3M’s Post-It notes, HTML are just a couple of examples how creativity and collaboration really make our lives easier.

Look at your co-worker again. See if he or she needs more nutrition, exercise, or just encouragement. Be the collaborator you have always wished you run into at work.

All things equal, take attitude

IT engineers are back in demand. A few years ago, it was the opposite.

Labor surplus creates serious contest on “Who wants to be an employee”.

All things being equal, I take attitude ( one executive told me, all things equal, he takes the one with the best communication skill –  who could express him/herself on global conference calls).

After all, you spend more time with this new employee than you would your loved ones at home.

Will he/she be a team player e.g. hold the door, refill the coffee when emptying its last cup, show up at people’s birthday party.

In “the Orange Revolution“, the author noted that workers who spend time with co-workers outside of work make great teams.

(the V formation in bird migration as an analogy e.g. each bird takes turn to lead, thus bear the full forward impact so the rest can conserve energy).

I was fortunate to have worked with great teams (one of which bleeds orange). We were trained with trust games etc.. but most importantly, we survived lay-offs and rehired, dot.com boom and burst.

I recognize a team player miles away: the self-assured way he/she carries him/herself, the smile, social intelligence quotient and most importantly culture-fit.

Before Google, there was (academic) records, references and referrals to determine a candidate’s suitability.

Now with Google, employees can research a company and vice  versus for free (without subscribing to Hoover etc…).

The paradox of Artificial Intelligence is that robots can do difficult task (computation) very easily, and easy tasks (folding a towel) with difficulty.

And I venture to add that Social Intelligence will be the last frontier for AI, since that’s what makes us human, sociable and sacrificial (no greater than one man who gives his life for another) e.g. Purple Heart medal earners.

(Incidentally, PBS was showing an experiment to have robots carry heavy armory walking through rough terrains). We will learn how to work intelligent machines into our lives (from the ground up, first with I-robot to vacuum the floor, then to accompany astronauts into space). But one thing we cannot outsource to machine is sense of caring, and empathy (studies conducted with infants confirms that babies needed human touch besides just mechanical feeding).

Back to human resource. Teams are formed and dissolved. But besides outward factors such as product life cycle, market adoption etc…we shouldn’t neglect team cycle (artificial, conflict, compromise and collaboration – per Scott Peck‘s studies on stages of community). Think of it as an indispensable hyphen, between product (factory) and consumer (market). The change machine can spit out coins, but cannot look you in the eyes and say “We appreciate your business. Come and see us again”. A business book, titled “HOW”, written by a liberal arts major explores this soft-skill set.

Pick not the best candidate (skill-wise) but with an attitude. Pick the one who adds to the overall success of the team. Ask around, and use your power of observation.

We are built to recognize greatness as well as great attitude. That’s what schema is all about. The social and emotional context that helps us “read” a person. In sales, we call this buying signals. Frankl puts it best ” you can take away my body, but not what resides in it”. Attitude is everything, when all things are equal. It set the tone and makes a difference in each touchpoint and each task. Tina Turner once said that each time she sings Proud Mary, she sings it differently. Or, like the actress who portrays “girl with the dragon tatoo” said on Charlie Rose, ” I researched, researched until one day, I feel the character living in me” .

We recognize great acting. And we will also recognize exceptional service by employees who go over and beyond their jobs (Ritz Carlton empowers their employees – at whatever level – to deal with customer service incidents).

A team deserves great team players, who  in turn, put a positive spin on work place atmosphere and  performance.

For me, every day is a gift, and could very well be my last. Do not take for granted the normality of every day life. Each interaction and passing moment is an opportunity and a touchpoint to be cherished.