Growing and Maintaining World-Class IT Teams

By Michael R. Wood

When the outcome is imperative, when failure is not an option, when it has to stay on time and on budget, you can always count on a World-Class Team to "get 'er done."

"All for One and One for All"

"Never Leave a Man Behind"

"I Love It When a [plan] Comes Together"

Whether it's the Three Musketeers, the Marines, or "The A-Team," one thing is clear: Being part of a winning team is not only a pleasure but an honor. If we are lucky, we have been privileged enough to be part of a World-Class Team; if we are blessed, we have had the honor of leading one.

What differentiates an average team from a World-Class Team? What makes a team World-Class? How do you grow one and, once grown, how do you sustain it? This article presents some insights and guidance on growing and sustaining World-Class Teams born from personal experience and countless hours of learning.

World-Class IT Teams (WCITT) are not unlike any other World-Class Team; they share common attributes. Building a WCITT begins with an understanding of what it should look like, the nature of its persona and the composition of its members. Here are eleven attributes indigenous to WCITT; grow these in your teams, and their success will be enhanced greatly.

1. Emergence of a Team Ego

Pride in the team, placing the team's needs before personal agendas and ego are a must for the members of a WCITT. Honestly believing in the team, knowing the sum of its potential is greater than that of individual members will go a long way to maintaining commitment, continuity and focus.

2. Mutual Respect and Trust

As you grow your team it is imperative that each member build a sufficient level of respect and trust for all teammates that allows them to defer to each member's expertise and knowledge. After all, each member was chosen for his or her unique abilities and talents; why not give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are correct until proven wrong? Teams that constantly demand proof of knowledge from their members burn needless energy chasing their tails. WCITT members have faith in each other.

3. Whatever-It-Takes Attitude

All members of your WCITT must adopt an attitude that they and their teammates will do whatever it takes (legally and ethically speaking) to achieve their objective. Each member must be proactive and have the ability to practice "Extreme Focus." There can be no job too big nor too small if it contributes to the team's success.

4. Work Hard Together and Play Harder Together

Working hard together is essential among good teams. However WCITTs do more than that; they actually get along on and off the "working field." They spend personal and leisure time with each other. They develop bonds of friendship, which in turn fosters trust and tolerance. They exhibit a kinship that tells the world that there is more here than just a group of people doing the 9-to-5 drill at work. There is something genuine and special about them that makes believers of those around them.

5. Sincere Sense of Stewardship

WCITTs demonstrate and subscribe to a sense of stewardship over the objectives and goals with which they have been charged. They approach their mission as a sacred trust and understand how much (lives, money, etc.) is riding on their success. Therefore the objectives must be compelling and worth achieving to warrant the attention of a WCITT.

6. Self-Motivated, Directed, Adaptable and Agile

To a fault a WCITT and its individual members are self-motivated. They require virtually zero management. In fact when managed too tightly they tend to break down. WCITTs are self-directed; they know what has to be done, they know how to do it and abhor bureaucratic interference. They are lean, mean fighting machines who adapt to changing environments with finesse and agility. Once loosed on a project a WCITT moves at the speed of success and should never be unleashed without a worthy cause.

7. WCITT Members Don't Keep Score on Each Other

One thing WCITTs learn early is that people who want to foster a long-term relationship don't keep score on each other. While they love sharing success stories and learning from their mistakes, each member knows that personal relationship scorecards breed distrust and resentment. The team lives and dies as a team, simple as that. The scorecard is focused on the endgame, not each other.

8. Complementary Skills and Talents

While each member of a WCITT must bring something unique and special to the group, he or she brings it in a way that complements the rest of the team. As a unit they appear to be a seamless blend of capabilities that just works. In addition they tend to have overlapping talents that allow each to support the other-to pick up the slack, so-to-speak, when a fellow member stumbles.

9. Charismatic Confidence

WCITTs ooze a humble confidence and generate an air of excitement and energy that is appealing, and that makes everyone feel like something special is happening. Something is different. Most are somewhat eccentric, off-the-wall to the point of being fun to be around. Everyone wants be part of their experience, part of the win.

10. Watch Each Other's Back

Loyalty to each other, looking out for each other's best interests are trademarks of a WCITT. While they might have disagreements within and might be their own worst critics, like siblings they will defend each other to the max when attacked from outside. The members of a WCITT care about the well-being of each other. They are a tribe within a culture, a force of nature. For this reason a great many organizations that profess to want World-Class Teams cannot embrace them and view them as too radical for their culture. This is why so many World-Class Teams thrive in Skunk Works environments.

11. Deliver Extraordinary Results (5 do the work of 20)

In actuality a WCITT will most likely deliver results unattainable by others. A 4-to-1 performance ratio is conservative at best. A WCITT's output and ability to achieve the seemingly impossible at dizzying speeds is their norm. Comparing the potential output of a WCITT to typical teams is like comparing a nuclear reactor to a steam engine.

As stated earlier, WCITTs comprise members who possess a unique blend of skills and talents. These teams are limited in size, usually 5 to 8 core members (permanent) with an extended roster of up to 30 (specific to the project). Here are some roles that are typically present within a WCITT.

• Leader. Every WCITT has a leader. The leader's primary role is to act as the tip of the spear for the team. They are adept at removing roadblocks to progress, running interference with the powers that be and creating an environment that allows the team to thrive. The WCITT leader is an enabler/productivity facilitator. They are just one of the team doing their leader thing and don't take on the mantle of "Boss." These leaders are accomplished coaches and project managers extraordinaire. They are "Defenders of the Faith" and the team expects them to make it easy for them to do their job.
• Wizards. Wizards are first and foremost Super-Techs. They are the miracle workers and can-do kids of the team. Typically these are not the folks you want running amok among the organization's civilians in that they can be somewhat eccentric, temperamental and extremely task-oriented. The WCITT shields and protects these gurus the most knowing that they work best when undisturbed.
• Diplomats. Diplomats are the "face" of the team to the outside world. They are the relationship bridge builders. Often Diplomats exist apart from the Leader. These charismatic individuals know how to translate "Team Speak" into common terms. They are consummate schmoozers and most likely the most popular members of the team. Diplomats serve as project cheerleaders and possess a wide array of persuasion and communication skills. While the Leader is the face-of-the-project to the executive group, the Diplomat is the face-of-the-project to the rest of the world. Diplomats are often missing in most teams but are essential to a WCITT; they are the counterbalance to Wizards.
• Analyzer-Synthesizers. Analyzers and Synthesizers are Wizards in their own right. They are adept at problem-solving, achieving clarity and facilitating change. These folks provide the tactical skill sets to the team and perform the majority of requirements discovery and process improvement definition work on a project. They are born business analysts that can facilitate requirements from the rank-and-file and translate them into the specifications needed by the Wizards. While Wizards are mostly left-brained and Diplomats right-brained, Analyzer-Synthesizers are whole-brained and are critical to project success.

There you have it, the attributes and roles found in WCITTs. Organizations that can grow, nurture and sustain these kind of teams can reap handsome rewards. They are the Navy SEALs/Tactical SWAT teams of a company.
In her book "World Class Teams: Working Across Borders" Lynda C. McDermott states the need for World Class Teams this way:

"To compete successfully in today's global marketplace, companies have to be lean, flexible, and responsive to their customers. They must also be creative, quick, and customized so they can adapt to new market opportunities. To achieve this, more and more organizations are rejecting their hierarchical, functionally driven pyramid structures in favor of a flatter, team-based approach that brings together individuals from diverse backgrounds and specializations who can pool their expertise. As many in the business arena are realizing, the concept of teamwork is quickly becoming a key global competitive strategy for developing and delivering innovative products and services in a faster, more efficient manner."

While McDermott's words are true for all World Class Teams, they are even more so for WCITTs.

This Article Reprinted Courtesy of http://www.gantthead.com