Post by BBE on Jul 18, 2008 1:04:21 GMT -5
Marty,
As you and the other members of LA Guns get to know each other in close quarters on the tour bus, here's an article that may help smooth out some "bumps in the road". Of course, a rock band is a much more informal organization than a corporation, but these are some good ideas that can be put to use in any situation where people come together to accomplish something.
Secrets behind great teams
Three simple guidelines to make collaboration work
By Stephen R. Covey
No matter what workplace team you're on, you'll make a greater success of it by following these simple guidelines:
Establish your mission.
Sounds like an obvious step, doesn't it? But you'd be surprised by how many times a new team will plow right into the work and assign tasks without ever making it clear from the beginning what the ultimate objective is. So establish the purpose. Get it in writing. And keep it in front of the team at all times so that everyone will stay focused.
Set the ground rules.
Lay down the group's ground rules and values on Day One. Make it clear what kind of criticism of members' work is acceptable and what is considered destructive. Promote other key values, such as the integrity of the work that is produced by the group's members. Also, establish some working boundaries -- for example, one member may want to contact others 24/7 via BlackBerry, but others consider certain times of the day and night off limits. Now is the time to determine what's acceptable.
Identify each team member's strengths.
Early on, establish the individual strengths of each member. Everyone has weaknesses, but when members focus on complementary strengths, then weaknesses are minimized. Too often, a team member is reluctant to concede that another member's strength in a particular area is greater. But teams are successful only when those egos are checked at the door.
(edited to add: Ooops! I forgot to actually type out the question I was going to ask.)
As you and the other members of LA Guns get to know each other in close quarters on the tour bus, here's an article that may help smooth out some "bumps in the road". Of course, a rock band is a much more informal organization than a corporation, but these are some good ideas that can be put to use in any situation where people come together to accomplish something.
Secrets behind great teams
Three simple guidelines to make collaboration work
By Stephen R. Covey
No matter what workplace team you're on, you'll make a greater success of it by following these simple guidelines:
Establish your mission.
Sounds like an obvious step, doesn't it? But you'd be surprised by how many times a new team will plow right into the work and assign tasks without ever making it clear from the beginning what the ultimate objective is. So establish the purpose. Get it in writing. And keep it in front of the team at all times so that everyone will stay focused.
Set the ground rules.
Lay down the group's ground rules and values on Day One. Make it clear what kind of criticism of members' work is acceptable and what is considered destructive. Promote other key values, such as the integrity of the work that is produced by the group's members. Also, establish some working boundaries -- for example, one member may want to contact others 24/7 via BlackBerry, but others consider certain times of the day and night off limits. Now is the time to determine what's acceptable.
Identify each team member's strengths.
Early on, establish the individual strengths of each member. Everyone has weaknesses, but when members focus on complementary strengths, then weaknesses are minimized. Too often, a team member is reluctant to concede that another member's strength in a particular area is greater. But teams are successful only when those egos are checked at the door.
(edited to add: Ooops! I forgot to actually type out the question I was going to ask.)
