October 25, 2005
How symbiotic is your collaboration
Understand the four types of symbiosis
Symbiosis is a central tenet of bioteams which in bioteams means you should 'partner date' widely but commit to partners very carefully.
Once you have picked partners you should treat them, and expect to be treated by them, as true partners in terms of trust, transparency and honesty rather than just paying lip-service to the words.
This particularly applies even if they work for different organisations including your customers and your suppliers.
According to wikipedia there are four main types of symbiotic behavior possible between two different biological species:
- Parasitism "I WIN – YOU LOSE" (+ -)
- Mutualism "I WIN – YOU WIN" (+ +)
- Commensalism "I WIN" (+ 0) (and I don’t really care whether you WIN or LOSE)
- Amensalism "YOU LOSE" (- 0)
The association is disadvantageous or destructive to one of the organisms and beneficial to the other
The association is advantageous to both
One member of the association benefits while the other is not affected - the main types of commensalism are using the waste from another, using another for transport or using another for shelter or housing.
The association is disadvantageous to one member while the other is not affected. To clarify Amensalism is an interaction between two species where one impedes or restricts the success of the other while not being affected, positively or negatively, by the presence of the other
I challenge you to identify the ten people you spent most time working with on a regular basis and make an honest assessment of what kind of symbiosis best characterises the type of relationship you are in with them.
If you are brave you could then ask each of them the same question from their perspective!
Posted by Ken Thompson on October 25, 2005 at 09:00 PM in bioteam basics | Permalink | Comments (0)
August 25, 2005
A new bioteams manifesto?
Its now six months since Robin Good and I published our first bioteams manifesto.
A lot has happened since then and we feel it may now be a good time to publish a new version of the manifesto and to circulate the bioteaming ideas to a wider audience using changethis as a medium.
If you agree then we would appreciate it if you would let us know by visiting the bioteaming manifesto feedback page on changethis and registering your vote by clicking 'yes write this manifesto'.
We would also value any other comments you might have on bioteaming.
Many Thanks
Ken Thompson
Posted by Ken Thompson on August 25, 2005 at 01:27 AM in bioteam basics | Permalink | Comments (0)
July 4, 2005
New skills for virtual team leaders
Are You a Yoda?
Thanks to Robin Good for pointing me to this article “Are You a Yoda” by Jill Geisler
We all know what feels like to be micromanaged - not usually an enjoyable experience!
We probably also know what it feels like to micromanage others - most of us don’t enjoy this either but unless we admit to being ‘control freaks’ we can usually justify it to ourselves.
A Yoda (the ancient and revered Jedi Master from Star Wars) is the exact opposite of a micromanager - more like a wise teacher who wants to help their pupils become the best they can be.
Jill gives some good advice to staff who feel they are being micromanaged.
Instead of complaining or just sulking they should first examine their behaviour to see if they are giving their boss reasons to micromanage them.
Only after this self-examination is it time to have the tactful meeting with the boss to explore their management style.
A cornerstone of Mother Nature’s teams, I call them bioteams, is that they operate as ‘self-managed teams’ by allowing every member the autonomy to act as if they were a leader at any time.
By adopting this every member a leader approach they are able to:
- communicate timely situational information rather than complex orders
- have this information 100% broadcast by the rank and file members themselves
- respond exceptionally quickly to opportunities and threats because the team members do not have to get permission to act
These are the three of the basic action rules of bioteaming
Bioteaming needs a new leadership style and a some bravery on the part of team leaders - they will need to be Yodas not micromanagers.
Posted by Ken Thompson on July 4, 2005 at 12:00 AM in bioteam basics | Permalink | Comments (0)
