“Why is it best to think of 2020 like a panto? Because eventually, it’s behind you” (from TV Gold’s “Christmas Cracker” joke competition)

The police have targets to measure their performance, and over the last decade have moved away from output-based targets to outcome-based ones.  If police targets were based purely on how many arrests are made, they would be ignoring the fact that arresting people does not deal with the causes of crime.  Even though they still need to solve crimes and arrest criminals, the police are increasingly responsible for working alongside community groups to keep people healthy and happy so they don’t turn to crime in the first place.

When we were forced to work from home, we quickly developed new habits, and we all found a way to make remote working work – but we never expected it to be forever. 

Over the last 6 months, we have been working with small local businesses in Portsmouth and London, and with big global corporations.   What we are seeing across the board is very long period of intensive stress for people who used to work in offices and who are working from home.

Committees have been described as “a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled” (Barnett Cocks), and “a group that keeps minutes and loses hours” (Milton Berle).  In my worst experiences of committees, more time is spent on talking through the minutes of the last meeting, listing who is present and absent, arguing about pedantic points of order and scheduling the next meeting, than on any actions or deliverables.  I don’t believe that any productive person would ever willingly start or join a committee.  You can tell by now that I really dislike them.  However, I would consider joining an action group or a project team.

The US team brought 9 sports psychologists to the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.  Elite athletes are expected to be in peak physical condition, but they also substantially improve their competitive advantage with psychological training.  Athletes are trained to visualise in great detail what success looks and feels like, achieving a winning combination of mental and physical performance.

In a long yacht race, a 10-person crew sail together for up to a week, 24/7. Crew members work in shifts, with an intensive three hours on deck followed by three hours of sleep, on repeat until they cross the finish line. These are brutal journeys in cold, dark and often dangerous conditions, and it’s no surprise that the team and their teamwork is pushed to the limit. 

Now is the perfect time to Supercharge Your Team – if not now, then when?

As the author of a book on teamwork, you’d think I’d love working in teams, right?  Wrong!  The reason I wrote Supercharged teams is because being in a team is difficult, sometimes even traumatic!  I wanted to give teams the tools to make being in a team easier, better and actually enjoyable.  Why supercharge your team?

I thought I’d be desperate to get back to the office after lockdown, but when the day came, I felt really nervous.  In the same way that I felt really panicked when we were forced to move the office home, now I didn’t want to go back in!  There are very strange times, and it’s the emotions as much as the logistics that affect us and our teams.

I’m going to tell you a story about a remarkable time in history when a group of people had an opportunity to change the world for the better, and they did it. That time is now, and those people are you. If not now, when?

Read More