Chapter 42 from “The Impact Book” by Simon Tyler
In my experience, teams often get into patterns of behaviour that may or may not be helpful, unnoticed and easy to ignore without anyone confronting and challenging ways of working.
Having met Ben Hunt Davies and heard the story of the GB rowing team, I lapped up the ‘boat’ metaphor and have used it many times when working with teams to cut to the chase of raising their performance.
Using this metaphor is a valuable way of reviewing and realigning many aspects of how a team functions, liberating the opportunities for more to be achieved!
As the volume of work increases, and the mix of stakeholders demands a wider range of activities, you can lose sight of what is important, and what is taking you towards your goals. This Impact Note uses an Olympic medal-winning principle to regain focus.
Great Britain rowing gold medallist Ben Hunt-Davis talks about his team’s transformation from consistent middle-ranking performers to 2000 Sydney Olympics Gold medal winners.
The rowing eight faced a number of challenges, and many critical aspects of its performance were almost good enough, but not quite. The crew members didn’t all get on, often wasting time arguing, seeking to prove they were more correct than their team-mates in any particular debate. Individualism, while an immensely powerful driver, was more divisive than decisive.
The focus point on which their dramatic transformation took place was the simple question, “will it make the boat go faster?”, which ultimately became the title of Ben’s book.
This question instantly took discussion to the new bottom-line of anything and everything that was part of their preparation for the Olympics. It cut through debates, sharpened decisions and took the potentially fractious crew to agreement and acceptance. This includes, in some cases, reducing training sessions, changing diets and altering the structure of meetings and discussions.
The translation and application to business situations was obvious and undeniable.
The simple question most easily applies in sport, and specifically the pursuit of a single goal (for example Olympic gold). But, of course, almost every business situation has multiple goals, multiple measures and a mixture of stakeholders, not a single and obvious first place.
However, this should not become a reason to avoid levelling the question.
I encourage you to consider your personal journey and that of your team, division or company, and pose the simple questions “will it make the boat go faster?”
What might the three versions of faster be for you? Is there a definitive metrics? When it comes down to it, what is most important? What are you (or your team) really setting out to achieve?
Proving how right you are, winning petty battles, completing habitual tasks, mindless meetings, extended working days, suddenly stand out as having little or no impact on your metaphorical boat speed.
Noticing your work patterns, your mental and physical fatigue levels, the impact you have on others and the impact they have on you will reap you much leadership impact reward.
Take your leadership goals and intent (having articulated it of course), in terms of who you are, what you stand for and where you are taking your team and company. Look at the week or month ahead. Will the activities and events in your schedule, the meetings, the projects, the stakeholder relationships actually make your leadership boat go faster?
Apply this to your career goal, the role or leadership situation to which you aspire, the impact you wish to have in your marketplace or on the world.
Review what you were up to over the previous seven days, who you met, what you created, the actions you chose (and those you chose not to take or to delay). Have they made your career and impact boat go faster? You decide, it’s not going to row itself.
If you’d like to purchase your copy of The Impact Book then it is available at all good bookstores or click on this link!