A committed team makes the difference in outsourcing

In Patrick Lencioni's bestselling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he suggests that teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage. Yet real teamwork remains extremely rare. In his many presentations, (click here to see Patrick Lencioni on YouTube) Lencioni begins by suggesting that teamwork is not a virtue. It is a choice, he says, and one that requires discipline, accountability, and focus.

At Coherent Solutions we have made that choice and followed through by developing our own teamwork building blocks to combat the five dysfunctions that Lencioni identifies in his pyramid:

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni

As Lencioni sees it, the absence of trust is the foundation of a dysfunctional team. The leader, and thus team members, must be genuine. They must be able to admit mistakes and ask for help. The team atmosphere must be one of acceptance and encouragement so that constructive dialogue – including conflict – can be used to solve problems. Without this, Lencioni predicts that team members will not be committed to the team’s goals, as they have not really bought into them. This results in a lack of accountability and, ultimately, team members are more likely to be caught up in politicking, manipulation, and finger-pointing than they are in the work at hand, thus losing sight of any focus on results.

Teams that include offshore partners are particularly vulnerable to these issues. Time zone and cultural differences, language barriers and simple lack of proximity can all contribute to a lack of trust and communication. At Coherent Solutions, we combat these all-too-common afflictions with our own pyramid (see below).

Coherent's Strategy for Top Performing Teams

• A foundation of transparency. In our model clients have full access to the offshore team which includes all team members, not just leaders. Using Agile project management, we rely on daily communication between the onshore and offshore teams to review progress, issues, and next steps.
• Open communication. Our offshore development center in Minsk, Belarus, is eight hours ahead of U.S. central standard time, and our work hours there are from 10am to 7pm to provide up to 4 hours of overlap with the states depending on which time zone you’re in.
• Commitment to schedules, budgets and each other. When communication is frequent and open, problems are confronted head-on as they emerge which keeps schedules and budgets on track.
• Accountability on a weekly and even daily basis. By constantly reviewing the project and its progress, team members are always being held accountable. In a positive team culture, this translates into pulling together to resolve issues, meet deadlines and make everyone's job easier.
• A results-focus. In the end our clients don't hire us to provide great teamwork. They hire us to create great software that makes money, saves money, or advances their business. They want to know that a good product is our ultimate goal. Promoting good teamwork is just our way of getting there.

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