In my last article, we looked at the five things we need to successfully complete any goal or task, namely motivation, resources, vision, process, and details. In particular, we looked at how these last three - vision, process, and details -  interact with each other, and how to make them work to your advantage.

The vision is the ‘big picture’ end result, the process encompasses all the steps to get to there from here, and the details are the individual facts and points that smooth out the path. 

When working alone to complete a task, we need to be mindful of all three in equal measure, and because we all naturally tend towards one or two of these elements, we need to pay extra attention to the others to make sure we are incorporating them all. The visionaries need to work on the process and details, for example, to turn their dream into a reality.

 But if we are working as a team, we may have the opportunity to play to our strengths. As long as all three elements are represented in the team, then the visionaries are free to imagine as hard as they like, the process people can drive the project forward with their boundless energy, and the detail-oriented folks can take a deep dive into any relevant rabbit hole of information - all the while supporting each other.

This last part is important - and often overlooked.

It is very easy to talk to people who think like us, but more difficult to build bridges between people whose focus is different than our own. 

Imagine being at a party with lots of people you haven’t met before. (If you’re an introvert, bear with me for a moment, we won’t be here long.) As you look around at those people in order to find someone to talk to, you may run a mental checklist, looking for people with whom you have something in common. If you are an avid sports fan, perhaps you will gravitate to someone wearing a T-shirt of a team you like. Does the fashionista share your love of clothes? Or do you overhear a conversation about a book you’ve just finished or a movie you enjoyed? As humans, we often look to find the similarities between ourselves and others - something upon which to build a bridge of communication. It is a lot easier to strike up a conversation with someone who has a shared interest.

Unfortunately, when we apply this trait to working in a team, it only serves to amplify dysfunction and confusion. The visionaries stick together and insist on endlessly refining the dream before any action is taken. The process people want to jump in at the deep end and start a dozen things at once, only to run out of steam - and direction -  somewhere along the way. And those details people huddle together, constantly adding to their ever-increasing swamp of information, certain that learning just one more fact will make everything clear.

Everyone is pulling in a different direction, often as hard as they can, but nothing of any note is ever accomplished.

When we work together we are used to recognizing each other’s skill sets and aptitudes. We may build a team based on these, and it definitely makes sense to do so. However, if all the people who possess those various skills are also all inclined to just one element - the team won’t accomplish much.  And it is so very tempting to put together a team of people who speak the same language. A collection of visionaries, for example, will gel so well together, they speak the same language, and they can imagine the end result with equal ease. Unfortunately, this is about all they will do. The vision is so much more appealing to them than the work of actually doing something, or finding out if any of it is actually possible. 

In order for a team to work well, two things must occur. Firstly, the three elements must be accounted for among the members of the team. 

We need to make an effort to find team members who are inclined towards different elements, and who do not speak our language.

(Bonus points if the elements in your team show up in equal measure.)

Secondly we must make an effort to listen to each other and to speak each other's language. It is so much easier to speak our own language, to consider the things that come naturally or easily to us to be the most important and to ignore or downplay that which does not. To go back to our party analogy, we need to find the person who is least like us and strike up a conversation. 

A number of years ago, we were renovating a bathroom in our home. I, eager to get on with the doing of it, was happily ripping the wallboard and fixtures off the walls. Yes, I am a process person at heart! It was my 10-year-old son who pointed out that if I were to take the walls clear back to the studs on all sides of the bathroom, I would have to rip out the only lighting in the bathroom - not a detail I had considered.  If he had not pointed it out, I would have cheerfully demolished all the walls until I found myself standing in the dark!  

Had I chosen not to consider this detail provided by my son, the renovations would have ground to a halt while I found a way to fix my mistake (often a sign of a process-heavy project).

So how do we communicate well with those inclined towards different elements? The first step is to recognize which element we are naturally inclined to - and have everyone else do the same. Use the example of the artist in part 1 of this article to help you. Just as people are assigned tasks or roles in a project, they can be assigned to the element for which they have the strongest affinity. Who is the vision-keeper? They will keep the end goal in sight and bring any twists and turns in the path back toward the endpoint. Who are the process people? They will keep the project moving when others start to stagnate. Who are the detail-oriented people? They will provide the details that prevent road bumps and blocks.

Secondly, understand your own biases - you will naturally believe a project should have a place to begin, a place to end, and a particular shape in between. You may be surprised to discover that others see this very differently. Explore these differences. No one is necessarily wrong, you are just coming at it from a different element.  

And lastly, actively listen to each other, with the goal of understanding and collaborating. Allow each element, and the people who hold them to do what they do best while accepting the balance of the other two. As a cohesive plan begins to form, allow each element to support and inform the others. Is the vision unclear in one area? Perhaps more details are needed. Is there confusion about the next step? Perhaps the vision can clarify that.  

Make it a habit to consider the input from all these people at every step of the project.

 It doesn’t have to be a lengthy process, but a quick check-in with the details-people can prevent you from working in the dark! Likewise, the visionaries can provide input on whether a step will be in line with the desired outcome. And the process folks can tell you what needs to be done next.

The sound of a well-oiled team should be a quiet hum of efficient activity - not the silence of dreaming, nor the echo of bottomless wells of information, nor the crash of yet another broken process. 

In understanding how best to use your team members; how to work with, and support, their strengths; and how to foster effective communication; you will find that team projects run smoothly and your goals are accomplished!

If this works for you and your team, I’d love to hear about it. Let me know in the comments.

Rebecca