Many Parts, One Team

As I began preparing to write these Minute Motivator emails a few weeks ago, I asked some leaders in the network what books they have found to be most valuable, what books they think all leaders in our organization would enjoy learning from. One book that was mentioned by multiple leaders was The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, by Patrick Lencioni. Lencioni suggests that the key to success in any organization lies in its focus on organizational health.

One of the first things he looks at in the book is the idea that all leaders need to be working towards the same goals.

“When it comes to how a cohesive team measures its performance, one criterion sets it apart from noncohesive ones: its goals are shared across the entire team. This is not just a theoretical way of saying that people should help one another. It’s far more specific, and far more difficult, too.”

Lencioni gives the example of a young soccer player:

“After a recent loss, a thirteen-year-old boy on my son’s soccer team said to me, ‘Well, I don’t feel like I lost.’

“’Really?’ I asked him. ‘How do you figure?’

“He proudly announced, ‘Well, I’m a forward, and we forwards did our part by scoring three goals. It’s really the defense that lost the game because they gave up too many goals. They’re the losers.’

“I kindly pointed out to him how absurd his reasoning was, not only because there is only one score for the team, but because every player on the field plays defense, though perhaps on different parts of the field. Even a forward plays a role in preventing the other team from scoring by making it difficult for the opponent’s defense to organize an attack.

“To be fair, the kid smiled and acknowledged the ridiculousness of his original remark.”

Lencioni concludes: “I wish I could say that it was that easy to convince leadership team members. Too many of them don’t see a connection between the decisions they make and the impact they have on other parts of the business. They don’t seem to understand that the way they spend their time, energy, and resources can influence the overall performance of the organization. All too often they embrace the attitude embodied by the fisherman who looks at the guy sitting at the other end of the boat and announces, ‘Hey, your side of the boat is sinking.’”

In Section 1 of Called to Lead, we find this quote from Stoner and Zigami, Creating Your Organization’s Future: “A vision illuminates the organization’s purpose so that all members are completely clear about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how their work relates to what they personally value. Day to day activities have more meaning when it is clear to everyone how they contribute to the greater good of the organization.”

Called to Care Action

Ask your team how your department’s activities contribute to the overall goals and mission of Kettering Health Network.