Passing the Teamwork Test

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry and the author of Love, Hope & Leadership: A Special Edition.

“What exactly do you do, Dad?”

Years ago, my five children would ask me this question. I kept it very simple when they were really young: “I work in an office,” “I make a lot of phone calls,” or even “I meet with people all day.” Short, to the point.

But when they got older, it required a bit more nuance… “What’s your favorite subject and when is your next test?” I’d ask them and listen. “And who helps you prepare for that test and get good grades?”

I’d then explain that I also have tests. They happen every three months when our firm reports quarterly results to our board, investors, and the financial community.

“Like you, my grade isn’t based on only what I accomplish. Rather, it’s what the 10,000 colleagues in our company do every day.”

In life and leadership, it’s all about the team.

And yet, “teamwork” is one of those words that gets thrown around endlessly. It’s a corporate rallying cry, the quintessential buzzword, even the subject of framed office posters. After all, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Make no mistake, though, it’s not all kumbaya. When people think of teams, they often have a utopian image of locking arms around a campfire, taking the “trust fall” challenge, and walking over hot coals together. This is not reality.

Today, if you ask five different people what a “team” is, you’ll probably get 10 different answers. Roles are morphing, and responsibilities are broadening. Vertical is out, horizontal is in. Hierarchy is out, mosaic is in. Command is out, inspire is in.

As has been said, “The strength of the team is each individual member, and the strength of each member is the team.”

So what does that look like? Based on our firm’s global research, we’ve identified a few key principles of what makes an effective team.

• It starts with the “why,” then the “what”—and always the “Who.”
• Individual ego is not the team’s amigo.
• Failure is failing to fail. And, it’s what the team does afterwards that matters most.
• There must be trust in all of us. Trust and belief are the two lanes of the highway. Communication, commitment, clarity, and accountability are the lines that guide us forward.
• Attitude is altitude—when constructive conflict is transformed into collective genius.
• And, above all else, shared interest must transcend self-interest.

Perhaps teamwork is best described through the lens and experience of a rower. Eyes locked on the teammate in front of them. Every stroke synchronized. Everyone executing according to plan.

“Picture all of us in the same boat. I know my success is in my teammates’ hands—and their success is in my hands. Owning our weaknesses, strengthening our strengths—and constantly asking ourselves what we can do better.”

This was how Adam Wood, a former competitive rower at university and with the renowned Leander Club and now a key member of our Global Technology & Digital Officers practice in London, described teamwork to me recently.

Or as Sjoerd Hamburger, a world-class Olympic rower and member of our firm’s Consulting team in Amsterdam, once said to me, “You want to aim to be the worst rower in the boat—not strive to be the star yourself. You have to think about the team around you—how they make you shine.”

Listening to their stories brings to mind my son, Jack, who as an adult took up rowing. I had a chance to watch his team practice on the Hudson River. It was 20 worlds away from anything I’d known growing up.

As he got out of the water, in one of life’s full-circle moments I asked Jack that familiar question: “What exactly do you do?”

He explained the two fundamental motions: the stroke and the recovery. The stroke is when the blade is driven through the water—pushing the boat forward with power. The recovery is when the blade is out of the water—requiring the lightest touch.

It’s the push and the pull, the ebb and the flow. It’s turning me into we.

Indeed, that’s our test—and what teamwork is all about.

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