One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams

“What I mean is this: Each of you is critical to ensuring we remain committed to our relationships with one another. Without that, we’re just a big organization with no trust. So thanks for the incredible work you’re each bringing to this effort and the commitment you make to each other every day. Any one of you could be someplace else right now, d

Each of us, to our core, is drawn to being part of something larger than ourselves, something with purpose, something we can believe in.

Keep in mind that each practice we detail is insufficient in and of itself to drive true and lasting culture shifts. For example, narratively aligned teams will never reach their full potential for organic collaboration if they forgo the practices for establishing and leveraging internal networks (such as a virtual forum).

Regardless of context, a leader cannot simply command people what to do and expect them to wholeheartedly follow. Rather, their task should be to guide teams, influence their decision making, and give them appropriate but not overly restrictive guardrails. But guardrails like this are impossible to establish without one critical factor—an organizat

you’re not made a leader; you decide to become one. There is nothing simple about that combination; it’s certainly attainable, but many still prefer to believe in the myth.

Any one of you could be someplace else right now, doing something easier, but instead you’re choosing to be part of this team. Thanks for what you’re doing.”

An aligning narrative—a story that forces members to choose between small-tribe norms and the mission of the enterprise—was the linchpin in our evolution—and will be in yours too.

O&Is allowed for more than a select few influential individuals from each team’s small network potentially to be converted into boundary spanners—it allowed for every one of them to.

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remove as many physical barriers to cross-functional communication as possible, in a literal design sense, without compromising the ability of individuals to focus on their task or be distracted by unrelated noise.