“We can’t build great organizations because we can’t see teams.” – business guru Marcus Buckingham.

Teams are where the work gets done

In this 1 minute video Marcus Buckingham nails a big part of the productivity problem. Every company has its org charts and its hierarchical structures and its management trees. These are drawn up and set out neatly in colored boxes connected with dotted lines and pinned on the wall outside HR. We try to superimpose P&L targets onto them and manage them as if they mattered. But in most companies leaders have lost sight of the place where the work actually gets done, the team.

Teams are like the families of the organization. They are the basic building blocks. But very often several teams get lumped together on the org chart – and then lose their identity. Or they are composed of individuals from different parts of the business, so they are not dealt with as a team. Or the lines around a team are hazily drawn so no-one really knows who’s in and who’s out.

A society that doesn’t respect families is headed for oblivion.

An organization that doesn’t respect teams is headed for the basket.

Don’t be a basket case. Ignore the org chart. Discover your teams, those living, kicking, breathing family entities where the work gets done. They’re the life of the organization.