Book Review - X-teams by Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman
Category Book Review
Much of the literature you read on building teams in the workplace deal with the internal interactions of the group... how they get along, building morale, etc. Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman offer up a different take on team success in the book X-teams: How to Build Teams That Lead, Innovate and Succeed. Given my experience over the years, their methodology is likely to be more successful than the conventional approach.
Contents:
Part 1 - Why Good Teams Fail: Into a Downward Spiral; A Changing World
Part 2 - What Works: X-Team Principle 1 - External Activity; X-Team Principle 2 - Extreme Execution; X-Team Principle 3 - Flexible Phases; X-Factors - The X-Team Support Structure
Part 3 - How To Build Effective X-Teams: Tools for X-Teams - From Theory to Action; Crafting an Infrastructure for Innovation - The X-Team Program; X-Teams - Distributed Leadership in Action
Notes; Index; About the Authors
The most noticeable difference between the conventional team and the X-Team is the focus of their activity... external. Instead of spending time waiting for the team to gel and feel secure, waiting for the rules and directions to be established, Ancona and Bresman advocate for an external focus. Get out in the field immediately and start talking to the potential customers and clients. This tilt towards immediate action may well lead to a moderate level of confusion and frustration on the team in the early days, but the net result is a quick start and insights that can't be gleaned from existing knowledge. Couple this with active "ambassadorship" and flexible membership and team roles, and things get done rather than just being talked about. The authors have done a lot of study and research in this field, and many of the examples (both good and bad) are real companies with actual teams that created successful products. This emphasis on real world results is good, as otherwise this could come across as a nice academic exercise with no track record to back it up.
This would make a good read for team leaders and management who are dissatisfied with how their teams are currently functioning (or not, as the case may be). There's no promise that following these steps will make your next project smooth and successful, but it could significantly increase the odds of showing results.
Much of the literature you read on building teams in the workplace deal with the internal interactions of the group... how they get along, building morale, etc. Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman offer up a different take on team success in the book X-teams: How to Build Teams That Lead, Innovate and Succeed. Given my experience over the years, their methodology is likely to be more successful than the conventional approach.
Contents:
Part 1 - Why Good Teams Fail: Into a Downward Spiral; A Changing World
Part 2 - What Works: X-Team Principle 1 - External Activity; X-Team Principle 2 - Extreme Execution; X-Team Principle 3 - Flexible Phases; X-Factors - The X-Team Support Structure
Part 3 - How To Build Effective X-Teams: Tools for X-Teams - From Theory to Action; Crafting an Infrastructure for Innovation - The X-Team Program; X-Teams - Distributed Leadership in Action
Notes; Index; About the Authors
The most noticeable difference between the conventional team and the X-Team is the focus of their activity... external. Instead of spending time waiting for the team to gel and feel secure, waiting for the rules and directions to be established, Ancona and Bresman advocate for an external focus. Get out in the field immediately and start talking to the potential customers and clients. This tilt towards immediate action may well lead to a moderate level of confusion and frustration on the team in the early days, but the net result is a quick start and insights that can't be gleaned from existing knowledge. Couple this with active "ambassadorship" and flexible membership and team roles, and things get done rather than just being talked about. The authors have done a lot of study and research in this field, and many of the examples (both good and bad) are real companies with actual teams that created successful products. This emphasis on real world results is good, as otherwise this could come across as a nice academic exercise with no track record to back it up.
This would make a good read for team leaders and management who are dissatisfied with how their teams are currently functioning (or not, as the case may be). There's no promise that following these steps will make your next project smooth and successful, but it could significantly increase the odds of showing results.