
Picture this experiment: You are pulling on a rope tied to a boulder, sweating as you try to drag it as far as possible. To help you out, another person joins you and the boulder moves a little more. Then another person joins you, and another.
You start noticing something odd. With each additional person, the boulder moves faster, but not as fast as you would expect. By the time the tenth person grabs onto the rope, the group is barely pulling harder than when it was only six. This is the gist of a famous study conducted by French engineer Max Ringelmann in the early 20th century. It led to his discovery of what we now know to be a common source of frustration on teams: social loafing. Write the rules for your team culture Fortunately, you can neutralise counter-productive dynamics and take steps to boost your team’s performance. The key is to proactively build the right team culture. That might sound too fuzzy for your tastes – the stuff of happy hours or casual Friday policies.Read more on company culture:
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- From poker chips to fish & chips: Why employers must step up and keep the workforce motivated
- Business lessons learned from Star Wars: How to become a Jedi company
(1) Goals
Rules related to goals guide the team’s direction. Goals encompass a shared vision as well as specific objectives that establish clear performance targets. Goals should also tap into the values that are meaningful to individual team members. (2) Roles Rules that specify each member’s contribution define roles that include both the formal and informal aspects of teamwork, such as facilitation, coaching, and mediation.Continue on the next page to understand how a focus on a few rules can make an impact – just as it did for TV show The Shield.
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