Have you ever watched a 400-meter relay team work?
On a good team, their hand-offs are impeccable.

In fact, given two teams of equal quality runners, the team with the more efficient
hand-offs always wins. The same holds true in the work place.

Like many organizations, you probably have good people, products, and services. The differentiator, though, between you and your competitors, is often the hand-offs between teams - like Sales, Engineering, and Operations (or whatever departmental silos exist in your organization).

There’s another interesting thing about the 400-meter relay. According to Wikipedia, the world record is 37.10 seconds. The world record for the individual 400-meter race is 43.18 seconds. That’s over a six second difference!

Given the same quality of runners, a team that works well together is
always better than a “John Wayne” who works alone.

The challenge in many organizations is that individuals and departments get so focused on their own egos, agendas, and goals, and they lose sight of the larger organizational goals and put them second to their own priorities. As a result, individuals, departments, and business units end of hoarding resources without regard for the bigger picture.

So, given two organizations with equal capabilities, the competitive advantage is in the hand-offs.

What are the three keys to stop dropping the baton?

1. Get clear on the common purpose. At the end of the day, whether you work in Engineering, Sales, or Operations, you should all be working toward the same goals, and those goals supercede individual egos, agendas, and priorites.  Get clear on your common purpose and make sure it is over-communicated between departments. The common purpose is the glue that links the hand-offs together.

2. Get clear on roles and responsibilities. According to Wikipedia, transferring of the baton in the 400-meter relay is typically blind. The outgoing runner does not look backwards, and it is the responsibility of the incoming runner to thrust the baton into the outstretched hand, and not let go until the outgoing runner takes hold of it.

In the workplace, too often the baton is dropped because there are gaps in what people think they should be doing and what others think they should be doing. Close those gaps by clarifying (a) key task responsibility, (b) decision making authority, and (c) expectations between departments.

3. Get clear on team member strengths. Some people excel at project start-up while others thrive in project execution. Learn more about where the talents of your team members lie and share responsibilities accordingly.

In the 400-meter relay, perfect hand-offs often compensate for slower runners. In the workplace, perfect hand-offs result in better product quality, faster delivery times, reduced engineering defects, and ultimately higher levels of customer engagement and retention.

The People-first Bottom Line: If you want to gain a competitive advantage, don’t forget the people side of the equation - smooth out the hand-offs in your organization.

I am going through two major transitions in my personal life right now - (1) getting married in October 2010, and (2) selling and buying a new home.

Both are amazing changes that will have a significant and profound impact on who I am as a person. And as I reflect on these changes, I am constantly reminded that change itself is inevitable in this life, but how we handle it is a choice.

I believe this concept applies to all of us - as individuals, management teams, or even organizations as a whole. Here are a few ideas that can help you and others ride through the roller coaster of change.

1. Reflect on how you have coped positively and benefited from changes in your past. Apply those lessons to the changes you are currently navigating.
2. Change is often the catalyst for doing something new, creating something different, and moving in an alternate direction. Use that momentum instead of resisting it. Actions always create reactions. So take action now.
3. Figure out what your specific goals are for the change. Create a vision around those goals. Get people aligned with those goals. Ask those who you lead for input on how to best deal with challenges.
4. Identify your support system and create a structure for you, your management team, and the organization as a whole to stay on track. It’s always easier to navigate change with the help of others.
5. Share what you know, and share what you don’t know.

The People-first bottom line: How you (your management team, your organization) respond to change is a choice, and that choice is a reflection of who you are.

So, you want to take your management team off site and work on building cohesion? After having conducted management team retreats for over 9 years, I have learned a few things. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Identify your objectives. If you want maximum focus from your management team off site, get clear on what outcomes you want to achieve. Also identify what challenges will stop the team from achieving the expected results and what will be different when those challenges are overcome.

2. Don’t over-stuff the agenda. The tendency is to think that MORE is BETTER. But, in most cases this is absolutely wrong. Stay focused on the important things, and allow time in the agenda for constructive debate and discussion.

3. Get the elephant in the room on the table - early! If you aren’t willing to deal with the difficult issues, then don’t waste your time conducting the management team retreat to begin with. Nothing will change if the elephant in the room isn’t dealt with head on.

4. Clearly identify what you will do to follow-up. Most management teams have good intentions, and retreats get people “pumped-up.” But the reality is that when you get back into the office, reality hits hard and the natural tendency is to revert back to the way things were. Put a plan in place to hold each other accountable.

One of the costliest mistakes senior leaders make is spending too much time IN the business instead of ON the business.

When senior leaders focus too much time on the technical and tactical aspects of the business, and playing the role of project managers, they fail to look at the strategic aspects of the business and the longer term plan.

This typically results in ambiguity of roles and responsibilities and a lack of alignment.

Answer the following questions:

• is your product road map shorter than 3-6 months?
• is the strategic planning process hap-hazard and often unintentional instead of planned and consistent each year?
• are performance reviews a once a year thing?
• does your executive team regularly miss their quarterly offsites that should be focused solely on planning and strategic team building?

If you answered yes to any of these issues, it’s likely your senior leaders are focused too much IN the business and need to step back to work ON the business.