Earlier this year, our team was at the Lead Developer conference in London where we took a slightly different approach to discussing an important topic…
When was the last time you got stuck in and built something out of Lego?
Working with Camilla Gordon, a Lego Serious Play facilitator, we asked the Lead Developer attendees to explore what the perfect team looked like to them, using Lego to represent their ideas about the ideal office.
In this blog, we’ve collated some of the fantastic discussion points we had with attendees to decide the nine pillars that create a balanced, productive team with happy members and strong leadership.
Nine pillars of the perfect team:
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Transparency; openness should be at the core of the perfect team, from an open door policy to open communication where team members are allowed to speak up even if they share a different opinion.
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Growth mindset; the perfect team should be consistently trying to grow, looking for opportunities to expand and develop their knowledge and operations.
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Nurturing leaders; the perfect team should be led by people who actively spot opportunities for their team members and build them up, rather than push them down.
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Forward-facing; the perfect team should utilise all of the technology, tools and software available to them to work in a forward-thinking, efficient way, always thinking to themselves and asking each other “what’s next?”.
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Lack of hierarchy; in the perfect team, every person should be treated equally, with no micromanagement or belittling.
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Unity; the perfect team should be united behind a common goal. Every team member should be on the same page about what that goal is and the tasks they need to complete to achieve it.
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Celebrating difference; the perfect team is made up of people with different skills, approaches and personalities. Some team members may prefer to work independently, others in a group. Some may be extroverted, some may be introverted. Difference is what makes a team stronger, as every member can bring their own unique experiences and viewpoints to the table.
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Proactive; the perfect team should always be on the lookout for changes they can make, actively making decisions rather than reactively catching up with decisions made for them.
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Prepared; the perfect team should be ready to tackle anything, together.
What pillars do your team value? Would you add anything else to the list? Comment below and let us know.
We’d encourage every team leader and team member to take a step back and think about the integral components that make your team work. Playing with Lego is optional – but considering diversity and inclusion certainly isn’t! Find out more about how we can help you to introduce diverse candidates, whilst never compromising on our provision of the best people for the job.
