Forming A Unified Team

Written by Diane M. Calabrese | Published September 2024

Temperament, timing, and task come together quietly in a unified team.

One person may be on point (think sports or horse teams). But the team’s goal—accomplishing the task—is always in sight.

Few people in 2024 have had experience hitching a team of horses, yet employers who have seen a few Western movies and experienced an employee who kicks up a fuss instead of moving in sync with others may see parallels.

Some horses never quite make the transition from running free in a herd to domestication. Similarly, some people never quite adapt to being part of a team.

Successful employers must form a unified team by being ready to reject a prospective member now and then. (The best time to do so is prior to hiring, setting free applicants who clarify they do not want to be bridled.)

Difficult as it is to achieve, a business must have a unified team. Pause, though, from ways to form it, and back up to a fundamental question.

“How important is vision to the idea of a unified team?” says Jeff Theis, president and CEO of ProPulse—a Schieffer Company in Peosta, IA. “It is critical.”

A particular vision? No, of course not. “Components of the vision can be very specific and/or abstract, but alignment around those targets is key,” explains Theis. The team knows where it’s going and continues along the path even without constant direction.

So back to assembling the team beyond not hiring those who want to work unbridled. “There is no one thing that catalyzes the formation of a team,” says Theis.

“In my experience there are three main components—of course, there are many more—of a highly functioning team,” explains Theis. “First is trust among all team members.

“Second is the alignment around the goals and objectives,” continues Theis. “Third is constant feedback within the team as to status of progress being made toward achieving such goals and objectives.”

Moreover, if something must change, it does. Flexibility is part of every team.

“Sometimes plans need to be recalibrated and may require additional resources, which may include extra time, money, software, machinery, and the like,” says Theis. “Teams can only handle such recalibration if they are aligned and trust each other.”

Clydesdales and Belgian draft horses are both known for their strength and gentle nature. Well into the 20th century they could be trusted to maintain their calm in logging operations as they provided the power for skidding, just as they could ignore the bustle of communities as they pulled wagons or stages into towns.

We often think of successful sports teams first when reflecting on what makes a team unified and exceptionally good. But there’s also something to be learned from the world of equines—recognizing that harnessing the power of individuals requires planning and skill.

It also requires optimism. More about that in the next section.

Attitude As Catalyst

Employers are engaged in a perennial search for good additions to their teams. Yes, it is analogous to combing the hills to find the best horses in a herd.

Once prospective team members are found, they must become part of the group already in place. The owner of a company must make it happen.

“I’m big on positivity,” says Daron Jones, vice president of operations at Standard Paints Inc. in Mansfield, TX. “If you come in with a negative attitude, that’s what you’re going to leave with.”

Jones firmly believes that “good things will come” if a person goes into a situation thinking positively. “When people tell me—‘Hey, you’re lucky…,’ I don’t think it’s luck; you create your own luck with a positive attitude.”

And with diligence. “Show up with the right mindset and put in the hard work, and you’ll be lucky,” says Jones. “Fostering a positive atmosphere is key in keeping everyone engaged and on the same page.”

Jones believes that positivity is contagious. He also sees positivity as the partner of inclusion in successful team building. “I want to make sure that everyone feels included and part of the team,” says Jones. “To maintain a cohesive team mindset across all departments, fostering open communication and transparency is crucial.”

How does Jones recommend transparency be established? “You want to include your team as much as possible and appropriate in what goes on in day-to-day operations and decision-making, as well as in the successes, both big and small, in all parts of the company.”

Jones recommends ways to reinforce that everyone is working toward the same objective. “Celebrating milestones and achievements as a company offers such reinforcement,” he explains.

“The reinforcement helps to keep everyone motivated and moving as a unit,” says Jones. “Unity and collaboration across departments are fostered when everyone understands the purpose behind their work and sees how their contributions directly impact achieving a goal,” he comments.

Positive outlooks and good outcomes do not just happen. Each person must be equipped to contribute to tasks.

Education is important, says Jones. “We do a lot of cross-training. When someone is out on vacation or out sick, the show must go one. So, the more skills each person has, the better.”

In other words, timing comes into play. If the capabilities of a team are broad and deep, a task can be completed at any time without waiting for a particular individual to return. The resources and hours invested in training illustrate to employees that they are “as valued as they are valuable,” says Jones. Employees who understand the “interconnectedness of their roles” also “appreciate how their work contributes to the overall success of the company.”

What does Jones’s company seek when hiring? “When we hire personnel, the most important factor we look for is teachability and coachability,” he says. “We truly believe a company is only as good as their employees.”

Even the most well-trained, optimistic, and cohesive group can meet an obstacle. (Yes, think of those horses again in the Western when it comes to boulders in the road, a stream that’s running too fast to ford, etc. A workaround must be found, and the team must be amenable to it.)

How does Jones’s company handle setbacks and challenges as a team?

“Listening is the biggest key,” says Jones. “You have to listen to feedback, whether it’s good or bad, and you have to improve by assessing it.”

Some information may not be what we want to hear. That doesn’t mean it is bad information.

“All information is good information and can help you iterate,” says Jones. Feedback allows the company to “be better,” and it’s an essential part of continuous improvement.

About Unicorns

There is a type of hitch in which one horse is out front of a pair. A unicorn hitch defines the arrangement, which is described as quite difficult to drive.

We know the unicorn from mythology. It symbolizes a fantastic realm where improbable—and desirable— things are realized.

There are many dreamers in business, and a few do actualize their dreams in incredible ways—something like unicorns. But most unicorn-thinkers—like unicorn hitches—are very difficult to contain.

An employee imbued with unicorn thinking can often offer great ideas. But if the ideas distract team members by taking them on tangential paths, the unicorn-thinker is not a good fit.

Dreaming is good. It leads to innovation of all kinds. But there’s a time to give in and follow unicorns and a time to fall in with the team. Unified team members know which time is which