[Reading Notes] THE TEAM: The 5 Laws (by Koji Asano) - What leaders and members should know when working in a team
I'm katapi, and lately I've been so into Kosuke Minowa from Gentosha that I've started checking out book editors without even thinking about it.
I read "THE TEAM: The 5 Laws" by Koji Asano (Director at Link and Motivation), which was also edited by Minowa-san, so I've summarized the phrases that caught my attention, my thoughts, and my future actions.
Summary of the Law of Aim (Goal Setting) [Raise the Flag!]
** "When humans become conscious of a certain purpose, they begin to recognize information related to that purpose more than ever before."**
When I was taking graduate school entrance exams, since I was applying to a different university, I relied on teachers and friends to gather past exam papers and other information.
Then, the professor in charge had a junior at the university I was aiming for, and he contacted them to tell me about the recent exam situation.
I feel that when a purpose is decided and you take action, information naturally starts to gather.
It might be similar, but when my wife was pregnant, I became aware of pregnant women, and once my child was born, I started seeing children of the same age everywhere.
The more purposes (things you want to do) you have, the more information you will receive.
Let's have many purposes!
** "Set a meaningful goal"**
I remembered being pointed out by my seniors, "What are you doing this for?"
When you focus on tasks, it's easy to lose sight of the significance, so I want to make sure I have a sense of purpose in my work and check it without forgetting.
"Set goals that clarify significance, results, and actions"
I had assumed there was only one goal, but I was made to realize that it's okay to set multiple goals.
By clarifying the significance of team activities, the results of those activities, and the specific actions required, members can reliably carry out their duties toward achieving goals.
I want to be careful, because if goals are not clarified, members will end up lost.
Summary of the Law of Boarding (Personnel Selection) [Choose teammates who can fight]
The composition of members changes based on the characteristics of the team, defined by the degree of environmental change (how much the opponent team's strategies and actions affect one's own team) and the degree of personnel collaboration (how much collaboration between members is necessary).
The book used an ekiden (road relay) team as an example of a situation with a low degree of environmental change and a low degree of personnel collaboration. In this case, it is better to gather similar types of talent. In general industries, production teams responsible for product manufacturing fall into this category.
On the other hand, it used soccer as an example of a team with a high degree of environmental change and a high degree of personnel collaboration. In this case, it is better to compose the team with diverse members.
In general industry terms, this would be an organization like a smartphone app development team.
Different types of talent are needed to respond flexibly to environmental changes, and if the degree of personnel collaboration is high, the total team strength becomes greater when composed of members of different types.
I want to understand which type a team is and choose appropriate members.
Summary of the Law of Communication [Create the best space]
It is not just about talking as a team; it is important to set rules.
I want to put into practice simple frameworks for digging into personalities to get to know others, and creating opportunities for people to speak up to build psychological safety.
I think it might be a good idea to have themed drinking parties or dinners as opportunities to get to know each other.
1-on-1s, which are individual communications between a boss and a subordinate, are also new. The point is not for the boss to talk one-sidedly, but to proceed with the conversation with an attitude of supporting the subordinate.
However, as a note of caution regarding communication, if you do not avoid being swayed by everyone's opinions when making decisions, it will have a negative impact on the team.
Communication is not for making decisions, but rather like an activator to ensure members can demonstrate their maximum ability.
Summary of the Law of Decision [Show the path to follow]
Decision-making includes dictatorship, majority rule, and consensus.
Deciding by committee is not always best. First, determine the criteria for evaluating options. After that, set priorities for the criteria. Finally, compare the options.
SoftBank's Masayoshi Son makes decisions based on the Fast Chess Theory, which posits that conclusions reached after a long time and those made immediately often yield the same results.
The president said the same thing: 'It's not good to overthink things; usually, what you feel is right in your gut is correct.'
You need to build a team that can accept and execute decisions made by dictatorship. You must be able to swallow the feeling that 'maybe the other way was better' and build a team that makes the chosen path the right one.
Make decisions strongly and execute them quickly!
Summary of the Law of Engagement (Creating Empathy) [Give it your all]
Factors that increase member engagement (the bond between the team and its members) are
philosophy, profession, people, and privilege
.
Team building requires providing the 4Ps after understanding whether each team member resonates with the philosophy, the opportunity for growth, the people, or the compensation.
In this day and age, as we have become materially wealthy, emotional rewards (philosophy, profession, people) have an increasing impact on engagement.
It is my personal opinion that when product quality is constant, initiatives to connect products and customers through emotion are necessary. Furthermore, in an organization like a company, I felt that new mechanisms are needed so that the company and its employees can be connected through emotion.
Summary
First, establish significance, results, and action goals.
Check the degree of environmental change the team is facing. If the members are already decided, check whether they are similar types or a group with diverse abilities.
In communication with members, use frameworks to engage in efforts where everyone can understand each other. Establish rules to create a relationship where any opinion can be voiced.
In decision-making, before comparative evaluation, start by prioritizing evaluation metrics.
Even if a decision is made by dictatorship, manage the team so that everyone executes the decision and leads it to success.
As a method of management, make members aware of emotional rewards (philosophy, profession, people) by communicating after understanding each member's individuality.
Before reading, I thought, 'Isn't communication just about increasing the number of conversations?', 'If the leader makes a firm decision, the rest just need to follow', and 'If you send passionate messages to boost motivation, members will follow you'.
I thought that way, but team building is not that simple. However, this book clearly describes what needs to be done to build a good team, and it was very helpful.
I think there are points that both those who are leaders and those who work under a leader can be mindful of.
Now, all that's left is to put it into practice!
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