Teamwork in Finland.

October 10, 2002 | 0 Comments

I’ve been thinking an awful lot about teamwork, and the mechanics of a Web team. We all know how difficult it can be at times and I think that working in a team, and doing it right takes lots of practice. I think it’s a skill that needs to be learned and honed. To that end I’ve added a category called Teamwork to this log - and from time to time I’ll post my thoughts, observations and many other things regarding teamwork and it’s relation to Web work and Web teams.

In my first entry about teamwork I’d like to point out an article I found over at Fast Company.

It’s about a soccer team in Finland who’s coach lets fans help him make decisions over the Internet and via cell phone messages. What was initially scoffed at has now turned into a viable success. The team finished first in division III play last year and now is being promoted to division II.

I think the lesson here is that, if done correctly, the sharing of power within a team, and amongst stakeholders can lead to great things. If things do fall apart, and I’m sure at times they will - you have more people that have a stake in the success of the team as a whole to fall back on when getting on the right track.

From a Web team perspective this could mean enabling your clients to help out more, have a say in the decisions made - it is their work after all. It could also mean trusting you team members with a task they normally wouldn’t take on. As with everything there is a fine line to be tread here, and it’s up to you to determine how much sharing of power would be good for your team.