Some days I worry that it’s less naive to believe in Santa Claus than to believe that healthy, productive teams really exist. I believe in both. Here’s my Christmas wish for you:
‘Twas the night before a meeting, when all through the team
Not a member was whining, it seemed like a dream
The agenda got sent out plenty ahead
In hopes that the pre-reads would finally get read
Each item was listed with purpose and time
It even showed who would be acting as prime
The time for each item would suit it just right
We wouldn’t need a marathon well into the night
All arrived at the meeting with minutes to spare
We each grabbed a coffee and pulled up a chair
Each time an issue was raised and discussed
Comments were helpful not masking disgust
The quieter members had each found their voice
They contributed options, ideas, and choice
The normally raucous team members piped down
Even our wise guy stopped acting the clown
We kept on progressing exactly on plan
Made sure that we finished each task we began
When what to my horror should finally emerge
An issue on which we could only diverge
I thought we’d get stuck at black versus white
I feared we found an intractable fight
But instead of each person defending their stake
A brave soul suggested a third path to take
This proved it, we really could deal with it all
Could discuss and debate without having a brawl
Our ideas were getting much better each round
We were giddy with common goals that we’d found
We ended our meeting with a round of high fives
Instead of each leaving with a bad case of hives
It might seem impossible, just a pipe dream
But for Christmas I wish you a fabulous team!
I wish you a very happy holiday. I’m going to sign off and spend some quality time with the “home team.” I’ll see you back for more tips and tools to make 2013 the year we end the misery of bad teams.
Further Reading
Running a Great Weekly Meeting
Mourning the Memo and Embracing the Era of Teamwork
“‘Twas the night before..the meeting” is similar to it’s inspiration “Twas the night before… Christmas”; both poems haven the same rhythm and rhyme and exhibit an imaginary and fantasy driven theme. There is no such thing as Santa Clause and his eight tiny reindeer and there is defiantly no such thing as the perfect team depicted in this poem.
In spirit of the holiday season, let’s wish for a functional team that has an even balance of cohesiveness and conflicting opinions and the willingness and desire to work together at achieving common goals.
Very clever. A team dreamer’s creed perhaps.
This must be an HR sense of Humour. I’m a beancounter and I don’t get it.
Merry Christmas though 😉
WOW!!
I can’t imagine living in this dream world. How boring things would be if this were how each meeting went. I believe for a team to function at its highest potential there is a need for questions and constructive criticism. If we all become bobble heads as in this narrative, we become very ineffective as team members.
I agree with your point Steve, that a team of “Yes Men” will get nothing done, but i don’t think this poem intended to suggest an ideal team blindly nods along. Absolutely teams need to be able to question, debate, discuss, but it needs to be done in a constructive way, not “masking disgust,” which is often seen in teams. A healthy dynamic where people can debate without feeling attacked can be hard to establish!
Now i’m really confused which one is the fable?
The quieter members had each found their voice
They contributed options, ideas, and choice
The normally raucous team members piped down
Even our wise guy stopped acting the clown
My question is why did they finally decide to come together now at Christmas time? Did they all just want to get out of the office for holidays? What was the motivating factor? How can we turn or use that factor in our everyday buisness not just so we can all get out and go home, but to provide an effective buisness culture.
I agree with Stephanie, i have never seen or heard of a Perfect Team, all we can hope for is everyone to express their thoughts and ideas and work togeather to acheive the common goals. We don’t need a team full of Yes-Men, just trying to get the meetings over with and out the door. The only time we seem to get close to a perfect team is when we have a Crisis.
The issues I see come down to not showing respect or listening to your team members. It is something we all can work on including showing up on time, putting the phones aside for an hour, and taking a few notes so you make sure and follow-up on your action items. The follow-up is likely the most important part as it then validates all of that time everyone spent in the meeting. Without followup, why bother meeting at all?
Jason, thanks so much for your comments. You’ve inspired me to write a new blog. This week I’m posting a video on what to do when you get invited to a meeting. Along with the short video, I’ll be providing a meeting planing worksheet to ensure you go to the right meetings (and stay away from the wrong ones) and also that you prepare for the meeting so you can actually add value. Now you’ve given me the idea to write a piece about meeting follow-up. Stay tuned and thanks for the inspiration.
I don’t feel the point of this is to say we need a perfect team or to say this is a fantasy. I think it is saying that if we all attend meetings prepared and listen respectfully to what each other has to say and be open to taking contructive criticism we can achieve the goals set forth. This does not mean things always work out the way we had hoped or planned but that as intelligent leaders we are able to compromise.