Team Cycles

School districts and sports teams are examples of teams that evolve in seasons. Every year, they have a new blend of talent and a different flavor of customers. The offseason (summer for schools and winter for baseball teams) allows a chance to reboot culture and reenergize spirit. When the new season kicks off, most everyone is optimistic and, fortunately, mostly recovered from what went wrong last year. The chance to start fresh is real, yet the likelihood of regression to last year’s unhelpful themes is high. Here’s a roadmap for a true restart.

At the Team Clock Institute, we are fortunate to be in a position to observe the lifespan of many teams. There are up years and down years. Some teams achieve nirvana and unintentionally become complacent. Others get stuck in a rut and decide that the labor of repair is more painful than staying the same. Still others find a sustainable rhythm of continuous improvement and invest in the next generation. When we take a snapshot of the current state of the team, stories unfold that enable the data to make sense. No struggle – or growth – occurs without precipitants.

After nearly five decades of ‘Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing’ theory, it’s time to throw out the recipe. Of course, the sequence makes sense. Your team comes together (you ‘form’). You experience some conflict (you ‘storm’). You set some ground rules (you ‘norm’). Amazing things happen (you ‘perform’). Because your team is populated by well-adjusted humans, everything goes as planned. Or it doesn’t.

The cycle of the seasons is a valuable reminder that living things require fresh fuel, reliable nurturance, space to grow, and an occasional reset. Just as the falling leaves provide spring fertilizer to plants awakening from a winter’s dormancy, teams harness the energy of change to recalibrate goals and direction. Fortunately, nothing stays the same. A shift in the business landscape or the addition/subtraction of a teammate alters the course. Some of these changes come unexpectedly. Most, however, are predictable. The key is knowing where you’re at in the cycle, why you’re there and, therefore, what comes next.

Boomers see it all the time. A friend or colleague retires or decides to scale back. Seemingly overnight, they grow old. Somehow, the vibrancy of creating work disappears and the indulgence of the golf addiction sparks grey hair, slumped posture, and conversations about medical concerns. They turn the ‘old’ corner. Variations of this theme, unfortunately, happen in every generation. It all boils down to the choice to stop growing.

Locate your nearest clock, whether it’s on the wall or strapped to your wrist. Look at its features. Numbers from one to twelve form a circle and hands sweep around and around, passing the twelve twice daily for eternity. Now imagine that each number is a stage of your team’s development. Where on the clock is your team? Why? Let’s slow down and take a look at what is happening as your team evolves in these predictable cycles.

Teams always move through cycles. For reasons coming from both within and outside the team, sometimes they get stuck. Getting unstuck is much easier when you know what has disrupted the cycle and what will get things moving again. Usually, the culprit is one of four issues. A few questions in each category will shine a light on what to do next. Let’s explore.

Pre-Traumatic Stress. At one time or another, almost everyone suffers from this behavioral health condition. The better-known Post Traumatic Stress is the mind’s way of coping with the aftermath of trauma. The lesser-known P (Pre) is the psyche’s way of anticipating adversity. It’s the form of anxiety that tells you there’s danger ahead. It is the insidious wearing down of the immune system that comes from prolonged stress. Bracing for a loss can consume more energy than enduring one. If this feels familiar, read on.

A year ago, a typical work day included face-to-face conversations, small groups seated around conference tables, and larger gatherings in auditoriums. While the geography of interaction has become socially distant, the volume of exchange has grown for many working professionals. Many spend their days in back-to-back virtual meetings in front of a screen. Change of this magnitude is best managed when something tangible is staying the same. What hasn’t changed is the fundamental principle of teamwork. Let’s take a closer look at the infrastructure that anchors teams during periods of disruption.

Teams often evolve like the arc of a crescendo in music. There’s a specific time in the team’s lifespan where the tension is supposed to build and, eventually, give way to resolution. In most songs, it happens near the end. In teams, the buildup is experienced as dissonance. When differences get worked out, it feels like harmony. The tension is the work and the resolution is the play.

It’s hardest to see the next stage of the cycle when we’re in the middle of some struggle. Energy is fully devoted to the tasks at hand. Despite our desire to be strategic, we’re forced to be operational. Planning is difficult when the future is unknown. Head down, eyes up is the mantra. Keep moving forward regardless of what life throws at us. So, how would today’s choices be different if we knew what tomorrow would bring? Predict the future.

Human Resources departments call it a workforce reduction. Describing the termination of a job as a lay off softens the blow. Getting furloughed suggests there might be a chance to return. Whatever the reason and however it is named, subtracting teammates alters the ecosystem. Because change is a form of loss, times like these move painfully through the classic stages of grief.

Ground delivery services and retail outlets ramp up manpower during the holidays. Sports teams begin each campaign with new rosters. Educational institutions make transitions based on the academic calendar. Corporate teams recalibrate when quarterly or annual goals are not met. Like families, team dynamics get refreshed every time you add or subtract a member. What holds everything together when membership is always changing?

Schools are back in session and professional football teams are beginning the chase for a Super Bowl ring. Education and sports provide lessons in the seasonal cycles of teams. There is a time-limited window to accomplish a specific set of goals. Teams ramp up in the offseason and try to get off to a good start when the campaign begins. They navigate midseason challenges and attempt to finish with strength as the year comes to an end. Whatever the outcome, they commit to another round of growth when the next opportunity resumes. What season is your team enjoying. Choose from these four:

Every team is in a state of transition. Some are regrouping following a major change. Others are building a culture of trust and accountability. Still others are using that platform of trust to generate something new. Many teams are anticipating a transition and bracing themselves to cope. Whatever stage your team is managing, there are always three questions to ask.

Please enjoy this excerpt from The 4 Stages of a Team: How teams thrive… and what to do when they don’t.

The ideal team flows from challenge to challenge, moving over, under, around or through obstacles. Team members understand the purpose of their struggle and keep working on the problem. Because all living things move through predictable cycles, each transition provides an opportunity to get stuck.

Beyond quarterly and annual performance goals, December 31st is an artificial renewal. New Year’s resolutions abound and businesses big and small reset strategic direction. Arbitrary markers of progress track movement but rarely refresh the system. Rebirth usually follows significant change. Norms are disrupted and teammates adapt. Other than calendar transitions, consider these drivers of team renewal.

Sports teams and schools measure their progression in seasons. The chance to regroup is built into the rhythm of the annual cycles. Players and coaches come and go. Teachers and administrators change roles. The off-season provides the opportunity to recover from the depletion of the past year and gear up for the beginning of the next round. Even if your team doesn’t have defined seasons, the need to refresh is just as important. Here’s why.

The easiest way to understand the value of cadence is to think about the steady, calming effect of rhythm. Cadence takes on a different meaning in music. It’s more about movement as notes, intervals, chord progressions, and syncopations transition from a state of tension to a state of resolution. What movement brings cadence to your team?

Strategic plans age quickly. Conditions often shift within months of consensus and clarity. There are many drivers of changing priorities: talent, technology, financial pressure, acquisition, and loss to name a few. Any change opens a window of opportunity to rethink direction. Consider these 5 key places to invest energy following a disruption on the team.

After 15-20 years of schooling, an academic cycle is built into the rhythm of most of our lives. There is a beginning, middle, and an end followed by a period of regrouping. Activities ramp up, achieve a cadence, and eventually prepare for the next transition. The hands on the clock keep spinning as teams navigate the challenges of their circumstances. The ebbs and flows of these seasons are barely discernible but the transactions that define each cycle drive the team’s evolution. What propels your team’s growth in each stage?

Somthing is wrong. Diagnosing pain is the easy part. Figuring out what to do about it is harder. Following through with those actions is the hardest. For many businesses, the impending completion of a calendar quarter signals the call to check accountability. Did we do what we promised to do? Sure, the easy part (assessment and planning) was done. Now what? What exactly is my responsibility to this team?

Professional sports teams kick off each season with a fan fest where loyal supporters mob a local hotel for a chance to shake hands or get an autograph from a hero. Optimism always reigns. Each new season is filled with hope and dreams of a playoff appearance. Behind the scenes, executives collaborate to put the best product on the field.

These days, everyone sees themselves as being a part of many teams. Beyond your work colleagues, families, neighborhood groups, garage bands, and recreational athletes, to name a few, all claim ownership to team dynamics. But really, do all of these “teams” actually qualify as a team?

In the new economy, the Team Clock Institute is one of many organizations seeking to model the qualities of an “employer of choice.”  With so many metrics for best places to work, how do we make it simple?  Why would the industry’s best talent wish to engage with my team?

Welcome back to the team Clock blog where we invite readers to participate in the Ask/Apply/Act model

Ask: raise a team challenge

Apply: share a story

Act: discuss action steps for consideration

Welcome back to the Team Clock Institute’s monthly newsletter. Each month, Breakthrough Teams will invite readers to participate in an Ask/Apply/Act model:

Ask: this month’s team challenge

Apply: example story

Act: action steps for consideration