Is it beneficial to have diverse non-hierarchical teams?
Teamwork is the term we all are aware of, and we have all been a part of various problem-solving teams. It essentially implies collaborating to achieve a common goal. Teamwork can be observed in technology firms, games, businesses, and even in friends trying to achieve things for fun. Many wonders get created by people who work together to achieve solutions for a common problem. In the past six months, I worked on a practicum project that provided me with a broad variety of knowledge on working in diverse and non-hierarchical teams. We will discuss some of the learning here.
1. Rapid learning of new things through sharing
Every business challenge we tackle in real-time projects is loaded with unforeseen complications. Having teammates with diverse backgrounds and experiences can aid teams in achieving answers more quickly. In most circumstances, people will have previously applied remedies in past or would have known the ways to achieve the solution
Few Instance, one of my coworkers formerly worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Because our project is to handle inventory management for the hospital, he has been quite helpful in explaining the pharmaceutical industry and the most used jargon.
2. Different Lead for different Task
Everyone excels in one or more parts of a project. Choosing a person who can lead with his or her competence to solve a certain challenge will enable us to finish the task quickly.
For Instance, I am good with technologies and took the lead for all the technical aspects of the projects, and the team support me with all the small tasks that I wanted them to complete
3. Collaborations lead to perfection and innovation
Every problem has several dimensions, and different people perceive the same problems in various ways. In non-hierarchical diverse teams, the problem is addressed collectively, individuals come up with several solutions, and we may eventually examine the best answer from the available options. Sometimes we tend to use the best aspects of two ideas and come up with a better solution.
For each tiny task, our team discusses what needs to be done and how we can execute it the best way possible. Because there is no hierarchical leadership, there is no hesitancy in sharing ideas without fear of being judged. This resulted in the best outcomes.
4. Communication is the key for planning and success
In Google’s study of the most prevalent behaviors of effective teams, equitable communication was shown to be the best habit for team success. People prefer to voice out their opinions more freely due to the degree of equality in nonhierarchical teams, which contributes to personal development as well as the success of the team
This is something that we as a team adhere to in all our tasks. Everyone on the team is well-versed in all the abilities required to perform the task. We all brainstorm a lot of things
- What? : To get a clear understanding of the task
- Why? : To get intuition back of the task, it can be business cause or it is the personal development task
- How? : The ways we can complete the task
- When? : Timeline for the first draft, meetings, and final draft
- Who? : Primary and secondary owners of the task and who will support the task owners
By doing so, we succeed in every task we complete and stay ahead of the project deadline, allowing us to explore and develop.
Despite the fact that there are so many opportunities, why don’t companies favor non-hierarchical diverse teams?
The response is that there are few negatives to nonhierarchical diverse teams, if they are not created appropriately, the teams yield devastating results.
- No defined leader, so when there is a lack of motivation no one cares about upbringing spirit
- Choice-making will be sluggish, and there may be occasions when no clear decision is reached.
- We don’t know who to blame if the team fails, and occasionally people don’t accept responsibility for a few things.
- There will be no set process or processes.
- There is no recognition or advancement in your career.
In short, companies need to put in too much effort to form the proper team that operates without hierarchy. As the number of employees grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to even consider attempting to establish diverse teams.
Conclusion
Finally, it is preferable to work in non-hierarchical teams that provide many opportunities for advancement. However, we must exercise caution in selecting the team. Out of 100 pupils, I was fortunate enough to select the four most fit colleagues. Companies, in my opinion, cannot afford to form such teams because they need perfection and assured success. As a result, they will recruit separate experts for various elements of the project. However, every corporation has an R&D department that consists of such teams since such teams are expected to have more failures and innovate. I feel if companies afford to diversify teams at the lower level there will be great innovations with young talent
“If you double the number of experiments you do per year you’re going to double your inventiveness.” — Jeff Bezos
References :
