At a moment of genuine crisis, people will step up to be part of the solution. Learning how to accept that help is a key tool in pushing ahead on any big task. The mindset of opening the turnstiles is what it takes to build a larger, more capable team. People do their best when they feel they belong.
When working on making large-scale change happen, especially in times of crisis, every impediment to communication and cooperation can severely limit your capacity in the long term.
Trust starts by making sure everyone feels included and that they have something to contribute.
In order to make a team out of a diverse group of people and institutions that want help:
- Take the help. The bigger the challenge, the more it will inspire people to pitch in. Accepting their help isn’t a sign of weakness. Others wanting to show leadership and take you in slightly different directions is a sign of progress.
- Keep score. It’s one thing to have a goal and make that goal widely known. It’s another to mercilessly measure results and share the scorecard with everyone on the team. Devise a clear way to measure progress and make that running tab known to all.
- Take a risk to trust people. If you talk about the team but allow divisions to fester, everyone will notice. Take risks to let people in, sometimes literally.
- Overcommunicate. You must listen to anyone with insight and ideas about how you can meet your goals and speak to everyone about your plans. Outside input and communications may take time, but they will pay off in the end.
From the book:
When you’re working hard toward a big goal, there are few things worse than feeling like you don’t belong. For a big bet to succeed, it requires seamless communication and teamwork. That communication was a vital part of responding to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. By opening the turnstiles, you can remove the barriers to teamwork. Big bets require trust, and that starts by making everyone feel welcome and as if they have something valuable to contribute.