Harmonious Teams
Post by Amar Dhaliwal
Anyone who has been in a band of any type knows that it is a near miracle to create something harmonious even when you are in the same room. What happens if you have never met your band mates and you happen to be distributed across the globe?
You would think that even very skilled musicians would struggle to find a groove with people they have never met, played with or even share the same musical language with.
If you are not familiar let me share with you this video from the folks at Playing For Change.. before you watch this remember that these musicians have not met in person.
Every time I watch that video I am blown away. Firstly that it is a beautiful tribute to the genius and philosophy of Bob Marley and secondly that they were actually able to pull it off. The harmonies are spot on, the love comes through, and the groove is perfect.
In our business lives we’re told (and we have each of us seen) that getting a distributed, diverse, individually specialized team to accomplish a shared creative goal is the rarest of things. Who hasn’t been on a team when the individual skills seemed perfect but the outcome less than?
So what made this “team” succeed in the face of all possible odds? I think three things:
Virtuosos (or aptitude) – without each of these players being a tremendous musician this amazing piece of art could not have gotten off the ground.
A shared groove (or vision) – the groove is what makes this beauty happen. Everyone is being driven by the same feeling or vibe and the groove lets them connect with the music and each other. A shared vision is magical.
Passion (or attitude) – you can feel and hear that everyone wants to be on this band and understands that their role has a discernible impact, however, small or large.
I believe that there are lessons for business teams here. To build a harmonious business team you need to have the right skills (or virtuoso); you also need to make sure that you have a shared vision (or groove) and you must have the right attitudes (passions) among the members. It’s ok to have artistic differences but get them taken care of quickly.
Go “stir it up” in the teams you are on.
Amar
P.S. Check out the Playing for Change website to learn more about their mission to inspire and connect the world through music. The Playing for Change Foundation raises money for music and arts education around the world.
