How to Manage Teams in a World Designed for Individuals
7th November 2023
here is no “i” in team. But there is one in “autopilot”. Despite the growing importance of teamwork in organisations, the processes used to manage employees have carried on much as before. Bosses may wax lyrical about collaboration, but the way they reward, review and recruit has not caught up.
People in organisations have always worked in concert with others. But the emphasis on teams is growing, for a variety of reasons. Technology has made the sharing of ideas and information easier, while hybrid working has made it more vital. (There’s a reason it’s not called Microsoft Silos.) The software industry has spread the gospel of teams—agile, scrums, okrs and all the rest of it—into all kinds of places.
Teams, it turns out, are better at solving complex problems, according to a recent paper by Abdullah Almaatouq of the mit Sloan School of Management. Research also suggests that people have a greater attachment to their work group than to their organisation; you’re less likely to go for lunch with a logo.
The military calls it ‘unit cohesion’ and that’s Old News.