73. Avoid bagging races

Counterintuitively, working as a team does not imply that the whole team moves at the same pace, nor does it imply that coordination is constant among all members, much less that they all solve the same problem at the same time.

Imagine what it would be like to run a bag race with all your team in the same bag. Trying to coordinate every little step.

It’s not the most efficient scenario.

Working in an efficient team means being able to take advantage of individual qualities in pursuit of a common goal, with as few coordination points as possible and with an appropriate division of tasks that avoids overlapping functions.

Equipment that requires excessive coordination is suboptimal functioning. When teams can move forward efficiently, even without the need to coordinate every step, their workflows in a way that reinforces their synergy.

A work team is also not a group of dancers coordinating a perfect choreography. Nor are they perfectly recessed and oiled gears. It’s not about any of those fantasies. These are professionals who know their objective, the scope of what they must solve, how to give visibility to the rest of the members to optimize work dynamics and how to assume and achieve commitments that enhance the effort of their peers. It is allowed to improvise, make mistakes, and go for more.

A team of professionals is not a machine, nor is it an orchestra, nor is it a clock, nor is it a ballet. It is a group of people who require vision, context, autonomy, proper coordination, knowledge, and responsibility.