Changing Paradigms: The Spirit of Teams

by Kathy J. Hagler, Ph.D.

Every so often, the opportunity to break through personal paradigms presents itself. It usually comes at times that you least expect it, in ways that you cannot foresee. Such an experience happened to me when I attended the TEAM SPIRIT CERTIFICATION in April at the Center for Creative Learning in Boise.

"With Team Spirit all things are possible," is written on the front of the brochure. The assumption I made was that when teams are high performing, anything can be accomplished. Of course, that IS one of the results that can be gained from this "teaming" experience. However, my own breakthrough came in the form of some unexpected personal growth.

My paradigms (those patterns of thinking known only in my most secret mind) of personal growth and learning have centered on reading and listening and analyzing -- alone. It has been easier as an adult to charge forward and, armed with courage and a sense of great risk, take the next step into new ventures. Even though I've been associated with teams of one sort or another over the last 25 years of my work, they have been a necessity and not a tool for my personal development.

Team Spirit changed my learning paradigm! What a relief to know that collaboration and partnerships can indeed expand and enhance learning potential -- if the structure and the spirit of the team are as much of a priority as the content. Let me share my experience...

PARADIGM #1: Teams are formed to DO things together. Most teams go through certain stages -- definite linear steps toward reaching their desired results. These stages are commonly labeled "forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning." This thought pattern, based on a process model, had always focused my thinking on what team members DO to push their way toward their desired goals. The stages represent linear behaviors that automatically happen as group members attempt to reach certain outcomes.

During Team Spirit, I learned that individuals and teams go through phases or conditions as they grow together. The Team Spirit model is represented by a spiral, depicting the circling vitality that team learning represents. The non-linear phases caught up in the spiral are Initiating, Visioning, Claiming, Celebrating, and Letting Go. the swirl of energy that is the spirit of a team connects members to their ultimate Service, and helps the team focus on both individual and collaborative growth and learning.

My paradigm shift occurred when I found myself being pulled by the "spirit of team growth" to merge my secret thoughts and visions with the ideas of others for the advantage of all members. I met parts of me I had never seen. I began to see that "being" part of a team can be more powerful than "doing" things to achieve results. I found that in this "being" I grew...and WE grew...and our collective results were more powerful than if we were just working as a group of individuals doing our separate tasks.

It is by focusing on the phases or conditions of individuals in the team that the spirit of vitality is ignited.

PARADIGM #2: Most team members just want to DO their part and then go home. Many groups I have worked with consisted of individuals who were working so hard to do their job that they had little time for being a part of a team. The "team" was really more a collection of "parts" who barely took time to see if they were working toward the good of the "whole".

I found that the Team Spirit process focuses energy in a way that supports the diversity of individuals at the same time that it creates a synergistic team. The spiral of vitality enkindled by the integrative process touches strings of motivation that have previously lain dormant. The paradigm shift is that team members want to BE involved in new ways that exercise their spirit, create new levels of service, and achieve exceptional results. Team Spirit involves each member in a way that builds upon this belief.

The initiating phase of this process for working together fosters a deep sense of trust, belonging, and connectedness among team members. Individual motivation is stirred in the spirit by feelings of being valued, respected and wanted. Visioning enables each member to reach into their secret thoughts of success and then blend them with others' dreams to create unparalleled Service. The Claiming phase encourages each team member to have the personal joy of accomplishment. As each team member is provided with the opportunity to "claim" their role and assume their responsibility, they become inspired to work together in new ways.

PARADIGM #3: Teams who manage to avoid conflict are much more productive than those who don't. Most members of groups (including your truly) do not want to face the "shadow" issues that seemingly take us off our focus and detract from our progress. Those issues take time and energy and just never seem to get resolved.

Team Spirit once again shifted my thinking. The Letting Go phase emphasizes the importance of each individual's communicating with authenticity and forthrightness, especially with respect to disappointments, frustrations or conflicts. So what happens when the "shadow" comes into the light? Release! A surge of vital energy that motivates team members to live in the light of truth and clarity. It brings a closeness of spirit to the team that provides them with the courage needed to dare to be different. The paradigm shift is that addressing conflict effectively within your team can be one of the most valuable learning experiences of working together.

PARADIGM #4: When you're done, you're done. No it is not enough to end without ceremony. Individuals and teams need the vital spirit brought by Celebration to acknowledge their sense of awe, wonder, and appreciation for their work and efforts. Remember how it feels when someone says "what a great job!" or "Thank you for all your efforts" or "I couldn't have done it without you." It is our reward -- our highest level of joy -- to both appreciate our accomplishments and ourselves and to be appreciated by those who matter in our lives. An integrated process of rewarding each other and ourselves is essential to the ongoing renewal of the team and to increasing the ultimate results they achieve together.

TEAM SPIRIT has shifted my thinking -- enhancing my appreciation of my own unique abilities and the opportunities ahead to build them with others. The work of high spirited teams can be astonishing and I am now ready to participate more fully than ever before!