Dynamic Teams Create Organizational Agility
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
One of the biggest business lessons we’ve learned in the past couple of years is that agility is beneficial for success. Agility is more than simply being flexible. Don’t get me wrong – flexibility is important. I like to think of flexibility in terms of being able to address last minute changes or adjustments. It might be a situation that we knew was within the realm of possibilities, but we just didn’t think it would happen or happen at this particular time.
Agility is about being able to address something completely unexpected. The situation isn’t something we thought could possibly happen, so we probably didn’t even have a Plan B for it.
Another way to look at it is flexibility is about being good at change and agility is being great at it.
At the last SAP SuccessFactors conference, multiple speakers talked about agility being key to organizational success. They suggested that organizations can get better at agility by having stronger teams. Totally makes sense. Sometimes the reason that we’re not very good at agility on an individual level is because we don’t have any support. I might be really good at being flexible all on my own, but agility is hard without a team.
This means that organizations need to spend some time and resources on team dynamics.
Team dynamics refers to the behavioral relationships in the group. The focus of team dynamics is making sure the team feels a connection to each other. When team dynamics are good, then team communications happen at a high level. And the group knows how to recognize their successes and resolve their own conflicts. I like to think of team dynamics as the description of the group vibe. For example, is the group “fun” or “serious” or “filled with drama”?
When team dynamics are positive, the group is positioned to become a dynamic team.
Dynamic teams are focused on trust and collaboration. The team gets things done because they spend more time working together on a common goal (some might call it a BHAG). Versus spending time dealing with team dynamics. Positive dynamic team environments create engagement and better productivity. It could be said that dynamic teams are high-performing teams. They have the right team dynamics, and they know how to make things happen.
Organizations that want to create dynamic teams need to think about team dynamics.
This doesn’t mean that everyone on a team should be exactly the same. In fact, quite to the contrary. Dynamic teams need diversity. Should differences arise, the team needs to know how to work through those differences together. It will make them a stronger team.
As we think about the weeks and months ahead, organizations will want to focus on getting things done. Whether that’s in the office or remotely or some combination of the two. Teams will be important. And the team will not have the luxury of just waiting until everyone is together in the office to work on a project. Teams will have to be able to adjust quickly to the environment they are faced with. Thankfully, technology will be able to facilitate these transitions.
But it does mean that technology will play a role in team dynamics. Organizational learning departments will need to think about how employees can build positive working relationships using technology tools. Luckily, we’ve had some exposure to this over the past couple of years. Now is a great time to think about what’s been working well and what technologies will provide value in the future.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby at the SAP SuccessFactors Conference in London, England
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