The wikipedia definition of the word teamwork is that it is the concept of people working together as a team. The concept has spread from the world of sports where it is well known and accepted, to business, so much so that it is in danger of being considered by some as an empty buzzword, or a form of corporate-speak. In the 21st century, as people are becoming more sophisticated and society is becoming more technically advanced, working as a team makes it easier to accomplish goals.
I’ve talked about Six Sigma project deployments but I think I never touched on teamwork, or that each Six Sigma project is being carried out in groups, in teams. Last Sunday was our Powerbooks Sunday with the kids again. After depositing them in the children’s section, I went on to check out management books. I came across the book by George Eckes, Six Sigma Team Dynamics: The Elusive Key to Project Success. Reading through it, I was struck by the question, “how teams work together to achieve Six Sigma improvement?”
Discussing this, the author identified 12 factors why teams fail to be effective.
*Failure to identify a leader.
*Failure to establish roles and responsibilities, and failure to discuss what each participant “brings to the party.”
*Failure to establish a set of goals/objectives.
*Failure to establish agendas.
*Failure to establish a method to determine how the team will make decisions.
*Failure to establish a set of ground rules for running the Six Sigma meetings.
*Failure to use quality tools.
*Allowing maladaptive behaviors to exist without consequences.
*Wasting time getting started.
Six Sigma teams cannot allow these failures. The book gives a deatiled guide on how teams should work. It starts with identifying the two project leaders: the strategic team leader known as the Project or Team Champion and the tactical team leader called either the Black Belt or the Green Belt. Chapter 2 of book discusses the various responsibilities of the Champion before the team starts its work, and how the Champion and Black Belt/Green Belt must work cohesively to achieve team success. In the same chapter, too, begins the identification and discussion of roles and responsibilities of each team member. This continues until the end of the book.
In Chapter 3, the concept of the “what” (the content) and “how” (the method) of Six Sigma project work is introduced. Alongside with this, the team establishes goals and objectives relevant to their work at hand. The same chapter also provides interesting insights on how to create vibrant, useful agendas that help teams to be both effective and efficient.
The succeeding chapters discuss maladaptive behaviors within the team and how to handle them, and feature a fictitious Six Sigma team working on a project using DMAIC. The remaining chapters focus on how to strengthen a team and make them work as a team. This is where you encounter terms such as team vision, team mission, and team dynamics.
Read an online excerpt here.
We often hear the saying, “two heads are better than one.” And I believe in that. Let’s face it, there are just tasks that we can achieve successfully if we work together rather than individually. I think a good visual for a team effort is the sport rowing.
Woodrow Kroll is correct when he says, “There’s a real beauty to the slender boats on the water, the perfect cadence of the athletes. It’s a sport that demands endurance and strength and the drive to keep going even when your body screams to stop. But what’s really fascinating is the teamwork. Rowing isn’t a great sport for athletes looking for MVP status. It is, however, teamwork’s best teacher. The crew made up of individuals willing to sacrifice their personal goals for the team will be on the medal stand together. Winning team mates successfully match their desire, talent and blade work with one another.”
