Synergy And Your Team - How It Can Make All The Difference

I often ask participants at my workshops if they knowThe weight of the barrels the team pulled was also
the meaning of the word "synergy". Depending on therecorded. Now comes the synergistic result. The
make up of the group, I get a variety of answers.weight the team pulled was 25% more than the total
Invariably, most people will say they know the term,weight the individual horses pulled earlier (surprise,
they've heard the term, and it's got something to dosurprise). Knowing this is all about the one plus one
with teams and team work. But trying to coax a moreequals three theory, you must have had an inkling that
detailed definition is a waste of time. You see, mostthe result would be something like this!
people understand that synergy is something thatIt must be an intact team
teams need. It somehow makes them better teams.The really interesting thing to note is that the team of
But what it is and how it helps to improve teams ishorses that were used was an "in tact" team. That
often a mystery. Just one of those things that is.means they had pulled things together for a long time.
A definition of synergyThey knew each other. They trusted each other. They
The best definition I've ever heard (and it was so longwere used to working with each other. They were, in
ago that the source has now been lost in the mists ofshort, a team - not just a group of horses tethered
time) is this one - "synergy is when one plus onetogether.
equals three". No, I am not a mathematically challengedThis is a vital point. In fact, it is the point. A team is
dummy! But when you add the following definition itmore than just a group of individuals. A team has gone
starts to make a little more sense, "it is when thethrough a number of processes or stages which have
whole is greater than the sum of its parts". In otherbuilt it into a well functioning, synergistic unit. I have not
words, when a team produces more than the sum ofheard of other tests like the Clydesdale one above,
each individual's efforts could produce if they workedbut I'd bet my bottom dollar, that if a group of
on their own.strangers (ie horses not used to working together)
I read somewhere (again, so long ago it's lost in etcwas used, the results would not be as impressive.
etc) a wonderful article on a scientists approach toApplying this to work teams
testing synergy. I'm not entirely sure if the article was aThe same applies to human teams. In fact, synergy is
fact-based one, but what the heck. It's a great storythe vital ingredient that turns a group into a "team".
and illustrates my point perfectly. By the way, ifSports coaches know this. They spend as much time
anyone knows where this comes from originally,building team trust, respect, co-dependency and
please send me the information. I would love topositive relationships as they do on sports skills. And
acknowledge the source of such a great story.we've all heard about the team of champions being
A team of Clydesdale horses (those wonderfully bigbeaten by the underdog champion team (it's the
animals with the huge hooves and flowing manes)quintessential Aussie story).
was used to test the theory of synergy somewhere inSo next time you take a look at your team, ask
the British Isles. They were each tethered to a numberyourself this question. "Do we achieve more as a
of barrels and tested on how much weight they couldteam than we would as individuals?" If the answer is
pull. Their individual totals were duly recorded as wellno, then the team has not yet reached the stage of
as the overall total weight. The team was thensynergy so vital to turn it into a champion team.
tethered together, and the same process repeated.