To put it simply, Ruth Simmons feels that organizations driven by “individual glorification” are doomed to mediocrity. In this post, three teamwork strategies, that Simmons learned early in her professional career, are shared. As well, the work of Patrick Lencioni, on the dysfunctions that make good teamwork impossible, are explored.
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In reading an interview Ruth Simmons did with the New York Times 1, three strategies she used as a professional were revealed.
When asked about the messages she conveyed to her executive team, when she started a position at Princeton University earlier in her career, Simmons responded:
“Initially, you have to say something about how you approach your work. I try to do it by speaking to principles rather than trying to give people a lot of detail about management style and so forth. I have always thought in leadership that it’s much easier to convey to people what they should do in different situations if you convey the underlying principles.
I thought it was absolutely essential for all of us as a team to understand that we were there not for our own individual glorification, but to help everybody else thrive. And that meant working together well. I emphasized that more than anything, and I stressed that I would not have any tolerance at all for people who did not, in fact, strive hard to be a part of that team. It meant being interested in others’ work. Being willing to facilitate their success. Being willing to generate ideas as well as generate criticism of what they were doing. I wanted to establish an environment in which people were comfortable offering criticism, because others understood that underlying that criticism was a fundamental support for who they were, and what they were trying to do.”
LEARN
- Promote and reward team orientation, not “individual glorification.”
- Establish a high-trust environment where people are “comfortable offering criticism.”
- When taking on a new position, when communicating your approach, speaking to your broad principles is the way to go.
GROW
Good teams are well led, they are not crippled by their dysfunctions. In his 2002 New York Times bestselling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (Jossey-Bass), Patrick Lencioni cites the five elements which are common in bad, ineffectual teams.
He is President/Founder of the Table Group, which specializes in organizational health. Knowing and understanding the five team dysfunctions can, Lencioni feels, separate the good Team Leaders from the bad ones.
The book “reveals the basics of teamwork by using a leadership fable, a story of a technology company that is struggling to grow and find customers. The new CEO on board, Catherine Petersen, recognizes the potential of the organization and its people. However, the executives are not working together as a team.”2
- Absence of trust
- Fear of conflict
- Lack of commitment
- Avoidance of accountability
- Inattention to results
In the concluding words of his book Lencioni states:
“Successful teamwork is not about mastering subtle, sophisticated theories, but rather about combining common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Ironically, teams succeed because they are exceedingly human. By acknowledging the imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make teamwork so elusive”.
As set forth in her answer to a question about an early leadership experience, Ruth Simmons is clearly a Leader who doesn’t see loyalty to be a one-way street. Moreover, I don’t see her seeking to lead a bunch of sycophants either. Do you think she would be in the midst of her 3rd University Presidency if her teamwork skills were sub par? I don’t.
Ruth Simmons’ resume, and the universities which have had her lead them, speak volumes. While no Executive Team is totally devoid of dysfunction, as defined by Patrick Lencioni, leaders who Lead Like Ruth will generally be more successful in what they seek to accomplish. This Series is designed to explore how Simmons leads . . . and how you can have the non-profit organizations you Lead thrive too.
#LeadLikeRuth
Footnotes:
1 Bryant, Adam. “I Was Impossible, but Then I Saw How To Lead. “The New York Times, December 4, 2011.
2 Kaliedo, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Book Summary”, www.talentsquare.com.
