In our previous post,
we introduced what we find to be an extremely effective team building model –
Tuckman’s Model. It involves four phases, forming, storming, norming, and
performing. Each of these phases is necessary for the team to grow, overcome
challenges, and deliver results. To read this in detail, check out part-one of
our series on Building
and Leading Cross Functional Teams.
Today we are going to
discuss Adair’s Model to illustrate leadership processes, and a Cross
Functional Team Integration concept.
Action Centered
Leadership, Adair’s Model
At Recruit Training
Command (RTC), everything is biased toward action. John Adair’s
Action-Centered Leadership™ illustrate how tasks are achieved and how the teams
and individuals are managed. According to Adair, the task, team, and
individuals have six core functions:
1. Planning
2. Initiating
3. Controlling
4. Supporting
5. Informing
6. Evaluating,
All of these are vital
to achieve the common goal. How did we use Adair’s model for RTC team
leaders?
The Task Circle
John Adair identifies
the responsibilities for “task” as the vision, mission, and purpose for the
group. At RTC, training is the purpose, graduation is mission or the common
goal, and excellence is the vision. Achieving the task, or series of tasks, is
different for each team and individual, and is necessary to complete the task
circle. The three teams, Recruit, RDC, and support, each have their own tasks
with purpose, resources, and processes to follow. A recruit’s task is to learn,
including learning to rely on each other, and complete every requirement to
graduate. RDC’s task is to ensure strict discipline and present a pristine
example of leadership, while facilitating completion of all requirements. The
support team’s task is to help execute the schedule, fill in gaps as needed,
and demonstrate exemplary standards. As the training timeline progresses, the
task circle is completed.
The Individual Circle
It is important for
each leader to understand the team members as individuals. The responsibilities
for the individuals are to visualize the goal, maintain perspective, be
supportive, perform in key roles, earn rewards, complete training, and develop
as individuals and as team members. For the Recruits, it is imperative
they remain aware of why they volunteered for RTC. The RDCs find creative
ways to motivate, train, and develop recruits. Support staff focus on
recruits, RDCs, and themselves.
The Team Circle
Dynamics at RTC are
similar for each team, with differing perspectives. The recruit team, RDC
team, and support teams are defined by their culture, roles, communication,
performance, cooperation, and capabilities. By design, recruits experience
challenges such as swim qualification, physical fitness tests, weapons
familiarization, academic tests, firefighting and shipboard casualty training
events which culminate in a 12-hour overnight capstone event called Battle
Stations. RDCs face unique and often repetitive situations in their
teams, such as recruit health and family issues, scheduling changes due to
weather, and division performance. The support team evolves slowly as
team members are added and removed over time, and whose culture is primarily
established through the training command’s directives and influence.
Through adversity and resolution, each team assumes an identity, standards, and
style which forms the team circle.
As noted by Adair and
observed to be true at RTC, achieving the Task, Developing the Team, and
Developing Individuals are mutually dependent, as well as essential to the
overall leadership role. So how did the three teams work as cross functioning
teams?
Cross Functioning Team Integration
Cross functioning
teams are defined as a group of people with different functional expertise
working toward a common goal. RDCs, recruits, and support staff teams are
comprised of a leader and key people in contributing roles. The cross
functional model below displays how we worked as cross functional teams.
Recruit Teams
The recruit teams are
a division of up to 88 individuals, ages 17-34, from the United States and
overseas, with unique skills, abilities, and motivations. From the first
day, recruits are assigned real and functional leadership positions complementing
their skills and abilities; the roles were leader, assistant and specialists;
responsible tasks included laundry, mail, medical and more. These
assignments help introduce rank, structure, and instill leadership qualities
that last a lifetime. After eight weeks of training, recruits are tested
in the final evolution problem, called Battle Stations. Those who succeed
earn the title of United States Sailor and go on to the next phase in their
career.
RDC Teams
There are typically
three RDCs per division. One is established as the lead. Each has
nearly half a career’s worth of fleet experience in addition to their own
personal skills, RTC experience, and occupational expertise. All are
trained to be interchangeable and can operate with any division of recruits as
necessary. Some RDCs will perform inspections as practice for other
divisions, as well as give advice or training to recruits and RDCs from other
divisions. They rely on each other to meet daily requirements.
Family time, personal life, and extracurricular activities are often sacrificed
for team responsibilities and the common goal. This sacrifice doesn’t
come without reward, however. The recruit training and leadership
development experience results in the highest promotion rates, nearly double,
of any enlisted occupation in the Navy.
Support Teams
Underneath the
overarching command structure at RTC, the layer of support leadership is vital
to success. In short, they are a finely tuned hierarchy of leaders who
are specially trained to help in any given situation. By design these
leaders occupy the “hold” positions. They are experienced RDCs who are
strategically positioned with the massive number of employees to ensure smooth
daily operations at RTC. This cadre of leaders are experienced and
possess a keen understanding of even the most unique problems.
Cross Functioning Team Interaction
From recruits leading
other recruits, to RDCs facilitating daily routines, to leadership support
teams providing solutions, the Navy’s Recruit Training Command has been at the
forefront of modern leadership practices, refining and redefining the basics of
leadership and management for Sailors. Each team is trained and designated to
communicate and interact within their teams and across other teams for the good
of the Navy. The teams together operate like a machine toward a common goal.
The Team Interaction
model shows how independent, cross-functioning, teams connect and influence
each other directly and indirectly. Each team’s connection is dynamic, which
means multiple points of connection between teams. While their responsibilities
may differ, they are part of the same organization and contribute to its mission
in ways that correlate to each other. For example, recruit divisions interact
with RDC teams and support teams. Support teams interact with RDCs and
organization management teams. The curriculum development team may never
interact directly with the recruit division but has a certain effect on their
mission and performance. Meanwhile, all the teams within an organization move
forward at varying paces toward a common vision, mission, and purpose.
Three Tips to
Successfully Manage Cross Functioning Teams
Here are a few tips to
build and manage successful cross functioning and interactive teams, along with
three important ingredients (Communication, Common Goal, and Rewards).
Tip 1: Communication
is essential to all members and teams for the duration of the task. Make
the organization’s vision, mission, and purpose ubiquitous. Encourage
familiarity within the organization to facilitate engagement between team
members, and teams. You can do this by scheduling team activities,
sharing the history of the organization, creating events focused on the purpose
of the organization, and by structuring teams in a way that promotes reliance
on another team for success.
Tip 2: Teams must be
focused on a never-changing common goal, and even small goals leading up to
it. Scheduling is key to accomplishing this, but even more important is
to never “move the goal posts”. Ensure your goals are solid and cannot be
easily moved or changed. Make smaller goals, which can be adjusted within
reason, part of the larger goal.
Tip 3: Having a
rewards system in place from the beginning, to avoid extra work at the end, is
a great way to create additional incentive and foster motivation. Aside
from monetary, time, and personal rewards, you may wish to offer a
certification, or a title upon completion. A hand-written letter or note
for meaningful and important work is also valuable. Small rewards for
completing small goals are also highly encouraged. Sometimes a verbal
“thank you” is just enough to demonstrate gratitude and appreciation from the
team or organization.
What teams do you have
in your organization? Have you assembled the right team? Is the team focused on
a common goal? Does your communication system allow you to interact with other
teams effectively and efficiently? Is there a reward system in place? Does your
organization have a higher purpose?
