Page 120 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

All for One and One for All 101

Questions to Ask

■ Is the “not invented here” excuse used to block the development of
teams?
■ Does the physical layout of offices and other work areas prohibit the
easy sharing of ideas and the formation of teams?
■ Do your teams receive the recognition and rewards they deserve?
■ Do some employees have an undue sense of owning a product, an
idea, or a process? Do you encourage cooperation rather than compe-
tition among employees?
■ Is team formation part of any job description or training program? Do
you have both natural work teams and cross-functional teams in place?
■ Does the company provide the necessary tools, for example, a local
area network (LAN), for encouraging people to share their knowledge
and ideas?
■ Do your leaders demonstrate buy-in to a team culture?
■ Have your teams written mission statements or set goals (in writing)
that are aligned with those of the organization as a whole?
■ Are your teams “co-located” for ease of communication and project
management?
■ Do you encourage teams to enlist the help of qualified facilitators
when necessary?

Actions to Take

■ Use multifunctional teams for all product-development or process-
reengineering activities.
■ Be aware of shared resources; you need total commitment that is
co-located.
■ Develop team rewards.
■ Hire team-creation specialists.
■ Study other companies with successful teams.
■ Increase organization-wide information sharing.
■ Hire and promote coworkers who demonstrate a cooperative style.
■ Examine the physical layout of the workplace and co-locate teams in
a systematic fashion to make the best use of the space.
■ Provide well-trained facilitators upon whom team members can call
as needed.