The 2023 conference cycle organized by the Cátedra de Empresa y Humanismo of the University of Valencia next to Popular Bank has started with the talk 'Effective learning teams', taught by Horacio Cortese, Argentine writer and academic, mentor and teacher in the development of effective teams, who started the conference with a big question: What is the question you are seeking to answer with this talk?
How to motivate and keep the team aligned? How to generate team commitment? How to manage diverse teams? How to generate proactivity and efficiency? What training should people receive to work in teams in a coherent and cohesive way? These were some of the main concerns expressed by those attending the event.
The answers would be revealed throughout the day with Horacio's speech, one of the first statements being: “We cannot inspire enthusiasm in anyone, because enthusiasm comes from within. But a leader can motivate or demotivate his team.”
In their vast experience and research in Coaching, Horacio and his team have proven that personal transformation is insufficient and that learning is essential to making teams effective.
And what is learning? According to the definition presented by Horace “Learning occurs when we detect and correct an error. An error is any discrepancy between what we want an action to produce and what actually happens when we implement that action. It is a discrepancy between intentions and results.”. In Conclusion: People learn by doing.
Now, we are the people who give life to organizations, and we constitute that unit that is the groups and teams. There are differences between both, because “All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams””, Horacio emphasized.
And what would be the key points for a team to become effective?:
Identify the team's life, its core values, and the restrictions and possibilities that the larger system imposes on the team. This last point is crucial since the team is embedded in an organization that has a culture and defines a strategy. And that organization is immersed in a market, industry or sector that is in turn part of a global system.
In summary, we can conclude that it is essential to learn the possibilities and limitations imposed by the global environment, the industry and the organization, so that teams can be effective and learners.
After the presentation, a new question was asked to the audience: How many teams have you worked on that meet the following three criteria?
- The team manages to fulfill its purpose to the satisfaction of its clients.
- Its members get along really well and would choose each other to work together again.
- Each member manages to satisfy some higher need (individual satisfaction).
Between surprise and debate, Horacio revealed that the numbers collected in the dynamic carried out are consistent with the available statistics and research: on average, people have worked in 1.5 teams in which the three conditions are met.
And why can't there be more? Here is the big challenge!
To address this, social intelligence is the pillar that, in an application to the organizational field, must consider four work variables to manage teams:
- Define the common purpose or objective.
- Organizing tasks: Which ones contribute to the purpose? How can they be improved?
- Have a communication and participation system.
- Management system: Leadership is a facilitating role and should even be allowed to be chosen by the team itself.
And then What would be the method we should follow to evolve our teams?
First - Lay the foundation:
- The purpose, the core values, the standards
Second - The Strategic Design:
- Current and desired situation. SWOT, Strategies
Third - Effective action
- Team sessions to achieve Action – Reflection – Learning
Fourth- Performance management
- Measure, control, manage, improve
