The Magic of Common Purpose in Teams

 ‘Our basketball team can do so much better,’ said Rahul. ‘But we’re not able to play to our potential.’

‘Happens everywhere,’ said Rinku. ‘We’ve got great individual players but fail as a team. Wonder why?’

‘That’s because we behave like a group of individuals, not like a team,’ said Rakesh. ‘Be it with family, friends, college, society, it’s the same. Real teams work together to achieve a common purpose that grows the team and the individuals. Real teams achieve much more than the sum of their parts. And, as the team achieves its potential, individuals perform to their potential as well.’  

‘Wow, how can I get our team going in the next game bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘Just like you get a boat moving forward when two people are rowing,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘Or, an army marching forward in sync. Get them to work for a common purpose. An army’s purpose is to win the war. Your basketball team’s purpose is to win the tournament. An organisation’s or a relationship’s purpose is to grow to its fullest potential. When our entire team knows and works towards the common purpose, we achieve miracles.’

‘How do we set a common purpose?’ asked Rinku.

‘In any team, a good purpose to start with is to grow the team to its fullest potential,’ said Rakesh. ‘Within that, you can set more specific purposes. Ideally, the leaders spell out the team’s common purpose with the team’s involvement. But if not, any member, even you, can articulate it, as someone who’s interested in the team’s growth.’

‘That’s it bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘That’s only half the job,’ said Rakesh. ‘The important part is getting every single member of the team to know and state the common purpose of the team. Can your team members tell the common purpose of your team if you ask them now?’

‘No bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. 

‘Happens with most teams,’ said Rakesh. ‘Most of us assume that the others know the team purpose - which is why we end up working at cross purposes, moving in different directions, towards different goals. So Rahul, start your team building exercise by making sure your team’s common purpose is clearly articulated and understood, and everyone’s saying the same thing  –  we’re playing to win the tournament. It focuses all your energy, your effort.’

‘And make everything else subservient to the team’s purpose,’ said Rinku. ‘Because working for the team’s common purpose helps individual members achieve their potential too. It’s a win-win.’

‘Thanks bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘I’ll set a common purpose for all my teams– family, friends, college - and make them more purposeful and growth-oriented.’

Pro Tip: To get the best out of all your teams and relationships set a common purpose of growth and watch how it grows you, your team and your relationships. Never assume that everyone knows the purpose.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Leadership Series - The Window and Mirror Approach

 ‘I’m upset with our Students Union President Ankita,’ said Rinku. ‘She’s taken all credit for the work I did for the student festival.’ ‘True,’ said Rahul. ‘She takes credit when go things well even if she hasn’t done anything and blames others when things go wrong. Reminds me of today’s politicians. No responsibility, only credit.’ ‘But that cannot be the right way to lead right?’ asked Rinku. ‘You’re right,’ said Rakesh. ‘Most leaders take all credit so they can project a larger than life image of themselves. On the other hand they bring others down by misinterpreting facts so they look better In comparison. But it’s an insecure way of leading. A good leader shares credit with the team and takes responsibility when things go wrong.’   ‘What’s the right way then bhaiyya?’ asked rinku. ‘Taking credit and blaming others seems to be the popular modus operandi.’ ‘Yes,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘It is paradoxical – but as we all know, a leader can lead well only when she is not a...
Read more

The Leadership Series - The Who of Leadership - People Represent Potential

 ‘So, what’s next?’ said Rinku looking at her notebook. ‘We’re all set to go – goals, roles, vision all in place.’ ‘Great,’ said Rahul. ‘’Now I hopeour team members do their best.’ ‘This is the most important aspect of your leadership,’ said Rakesh laughing. ‘People management. So don’t hope. How you manage people becomes the biggest diffrentiator for the leader.’ ‘Why bhaiyya? Won’t people deliver according to their capabilities?’asked Rinku. ‘No Rinku,’said Rakesh. ‘People are not like machines. They don’t deliver one standard. If you handle a person right she will go way beyond what sheis required to do. On the other hand, if you do not know how to handle them,people will work without any interest and enthusiasm. You may have the best systems and recruited the best resources, but if you do not know how to handle people on your side, your effort will fall flat.’ ‘That’s interesting?’ said Rinku. ‘So if they are handled right, people deliver much more than they normally ...
Read more

Paying Attention Pays

 ‘Bhaiyya, I invited my friends for a zoom party,’ said Rahul. ‘Those fools didn’t show up. I’m very upset.’ ‘No one came?’ asked Rakesh. ‘Rinku, Ali and Kapil came of course,’ said Rahul. ‘But I’m really upset with the others.’‘Rahul, do you realise this is a classic way to stay unhappy for no reason,’ asked Rakesh. ‘What bhaiyya?’ said Rahul. ‘Your attention is a precious resource Rahul,’ said Rakesh. ‘How you use it can make you happy or unhappy, succeed or fail.’ ‘How does it work bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘It’s simple Rinku,’ said Rakesh. ‘We can focus our attention on what we have and be happy or focus our attention on what we don’t have and stay unhappy. Most of us focus on what’s not there which makes us, and consequently others around us, unhappy. For example, Rahul, you should ask Rinku how she felt about the party.’ ‘Oh,’ smiled Rinku. ‘I felt pretty useless when Rahul ignored me and was more concerned about the others who didn’t show up. I wondered why I showed u...
Read more