Build a Tower, Build a Team

by Chris Pace · February 12, 2020

By: Chris Pace

An interesting concept in the dynamics of team building as described by Tom Wujec in the included video. The exercise he describes has been used across a wide range of positions, ages and education levels and has produced some surprising results.

Some groups consistently perform poorly while others consistently perform well. The difference is how the groups interact with their groups to complete the task. Please take six minutes to view this clever Ted Talk that really illuminates the team dynamic and the why’s and what’s of creating ah-ha moments!

Surprising performance levels

What I find most striking in this video is the differing results from the various and diverse teams of people. For sure, the results are not what one might expect to see based on the type of project and the respective skill sets of the projects participants.

One might expect that recent college business grads might very well be the next-level developers with fresh knowledge, healthy ambition, and loads of ideas. But what is revealed quite clearly is that “all the right things” may be just what the project – and the teamwork dynamic – don’t need. Conversely, the Kindergarten kids are quite the collective force behind successful team dynamics and ensuring the project is executed successfully… despite their qualitatively unripe skill sets.

Why might this be?

Wujec colors the thought-canvas with some terrific insight regarding what successful teams do better than unsuccessful ones, let’s explore:

They don’t jockey for power and status… the focus of a successful team is not on the who, but instead on the how and what.

Once the purpose or goal is set… the focus never averts from the primary objective. Successful teams have a simple, right vision.

The essence of their work is iterative… there is no clear right answer so the team embraces tinkering as a tactic for finding a suitable path forward

Prototyping helps build stable structures… Successful teams’ step into the unknown with confidence and are courageous enough to fail again and again until progress gets made and breakthroughs occur

So… if we consider the notes above as the process for building team success, what are some core values of this teamwork dynamic?

Four main takeaways:

The experience MUST be shared. Everyone is involved and has as an equal stake in the process and the solution. Also, accountability is shared, and blame is never an option. The team succeeds and fails together.

A common language is not only a driver of synergy but a key cultural pillar that harmonizes the process and allows for successful scale-ability

Prototyping and Facilitation must occur over and over again. If the process is constantly massaged and managed, a team avoids becoming obsolete and stay current with relevant trends. This constant evaluation and adjustment allow a successful team to ebb and flow between the evolving skill sets of its’ people and creates opportunities for everyone to ‘take part’ at some moment in the journey.

Design is a contact sport. High stakes – along with high skill – is the key formula to achieving high-level results. While one might argue that everything we venture to do is rooted in design, ensuring the appropriate skills are honed to execute those designs is a core driver of sustainable success.

Whether you’re starting a new business, taking your existing business to the next level, or simply building a marshmallow tower… it’s so important to consider and embrace the process. When we become too focused on the politics or get caught up in the irrelevant details, or simply pine over the end goal (forgetting to take the steps to get there), we sabotage our ability to work successfully as a team and deliver remarkable results.

Hopefully, this message resonates with you as we lean into 2020 with high hopes and expectations. Let’s just be sure we’re paying attention to our design and considering the many iterations of our journey. We all need to move forward deliberately step-by-step to raise our own “marshmallow” higher than ever before.