How do we go on together?

The work of a team is more than individual actions. Understanding what this means for our teams and defining how we work together is critical to success. However, ONE THING that isn't articulated very well, if at all, is the idea that, at its heart, a team must be able to go on together.

Our role as leaders and teams is to create an environment where we can listen, discuss, and reach an agreed-upon decision. Even if the decision is not what we put forward, we can support it. It doesn't mean that discussions are not robust or that we simply have to go along with it. We do that because we know that it's important that the team continues working together and that losing on this ONE THING doesn't divide us.

It's not that we surrender. As a deep point of principle, we understand that "It's better to go on together than simply allow the other to be vanquished" [1].

It's what Greg McKeown calls the importance of secure connections [2]. As human beings, we are all vulnerable. We recognise that we need others to achieve. When we embrace our vulnerability, creating secure connections is the primary goal.

I think we see this come out in times of disaster. When our backs are against the wall (an imposed vulnerability), we put divisions aside and figure out how to go on.

But when it comes to a disagreement in a meeting, the flexing of workplace egos, or a decision that doesn't align with our point of view, all too often, I see that we forget we need to go on together and want to be right. We want to smite our foes and can readily take up below-the-line behaviours by undermining others, shutting down and disengaging, or finding ways of acting out.

This may be part of what we mean by the value of workplace collaboration, but it can't be assumed. Secure connection or going on together must be openly stated, agreed upon, and actively worked on as a - or maybe the - central principle of our working life. As McKeown says,

"In a chaotic world, vulnerability may seem like a dangerous choice. But when vulnerability is met with secure connection, we create the relationships that provide stability in our ever-changing world."

This is a challenge that teams need to embrace. What ONE THING would you do with your team to embrace the notion of going on together?

And if we get the hang of this at work, could we get the hang of it in the world at large? Just think of that!