I find it fascinating to explore what team size works more easily and promotes high performance with greater engagement, ease and speed. It is a topic I plan to invest more thinking into and welcome feedback and ideas from everyone who reads this post.
Narrative from colleagues had me acknowledging the size of soccer teams is optimal – 11 people and with the substitutes that could stretch to 16 people. Once we tip over this it is harder to have people “feeling” like they belong and fit in.
Then hearing firsthand stories about the approach of Flight Centre CEO and Founder – Graham (“Skroo”) Turner – the “tribal” approach to teams and culture appears to be a highly successful model.
He founded his business model on the concept of:
– family
– village
– tribe
Interestingly his smallest unit size – the family – was 7 to 9 people according to an Australian Financial Review article in 2013.
This approach emphasizes the sense of belonging and accountability as well as promoting “healthy competition” between families and the villages within the tribe. At the heart of this approach is the sense of belonging and worth within the smallest unit – the family. I think “Skroo” has tapped into something very powerful and especially critical as we shift into activity based seating within corporate offices where there can be a sense of loss for many, so reigniting this sense of belonging and achieving together is critical for future performance.
More to come as I research more; and hear more from the readers of this post – please share your experiences.
