High Performance Teams
I recently spoke about high performance teams at a “Sweatworking” breakfast event hosted by digital agency, Bind.
When I was asked to speak, I reflected on my time at Thomas Cook Airlines as part of the UK Group Communications Team. The team was largely based in London with a small number in Peterborough and an even a smaller number in Manchester. The team spanned all areas of the Group Plc, from retail and hotels to airline and financial services. It comprised consumer communications, corporate affairs, internal communications, public affairs, sustainability and investor relations.
Never in my career have I felt so connected to a team, or so motivated to work for my colleagues. There are two things about that I think are quite interesting;
1 - In the proximity sense, I saw the team once every couple of months face to face at most.
2 - As the instability of the business became more and more acute in the final months, in a PR/communications sense, the work that we were required to do was, at times, far from uplifting!
So why was the team so strong and high performing?
We had strong foundations and that pulled us through, culminating in a sleep deprived final weekend before that final day on 23 September 2019, when the UK’s oldest holiday company couldn’t be saved.
Even to the last, when we knew the fight was over, every single member of the team worked harder than they ever had. Here’s why I believe that was.
Communications at the heart of the business
Firstly, we were all passionate about the power that communications had to influence the business. The media interest in Thomas Cook brand was undeniable - financial, business, consumer…and we continually communicated with the CEO and Board, led by our exceptional Corporate Affairs Director, so that they understood the reputational consequences of every decision and the opportunities that we had as a business to shape the narrative so that we could keep all of our stakeholders engaged.
Communications was at the heart of the board table and that was crucial. As that relationship strengthened, so did our commitment as a team to support the CEO and the Board. We were motivated and fiercely loyal, even in the most difficult of times. We also felt pretty exclusive as a team, we believed in our value and as we saw that value being recognised internally, which only motivated us more.
Clear vision
We had a clear vision of where we wanted to be and what we wanted to accomplish. We were also aligned that individuals will always lose out to a team – yes individual brilliance can have massive impact in a moment of time, but a team will always win the race.
Accountability & Attitude
We held each other accountable to achieve outstanding results. We worked often in smaller sub teams which gave us greater focus, bigger impact and better results.
The team was made up of different personalities, rather than a mono culture. Different people bringing different qualities is critical to the success of a team.
The team was almost entirely crafted from scratch by the Corporate Affairs Director, and while it was a very talented group, it was as much about attitude as aptitude. Everyone knew what was expected of them, what the culture of the team was, it lifted everyone and inspired us to work for each other.
Openness & Transparency
We were encouraged to speak up and that fostered openness and transparency in the team. We were encouraged to debate and yes, sometimes we disagreed! But we never let tension fester. And again, not everyone approached things in the same way. We all have different ways of working, but because we were so clear on the goal, we were encouraged to reach it within our own frameworks. Playing to our own strengths. Everyone was equal, everyone had a voice, regardless of hierarchy.
Be as open and as honest as you can be and keep communicating.
Looking out for one other
We looked after each other. Sounds fluffy, but it’s really not. It encourages a true team approach. We dealt with some really challenging issues and crises. My first ever on call weekend was one to remember/forget. Extreme weather in the Canaries and thousand of customers stranded in airports overnight across the islands. The media interest was relentless and very little sleep was had. I had to go into the office on Monday morning after no sleep and a high stress weekend, for an interview with our airline CEO and a media training session for a pilot who was preparing for a Channel 4 interview. When I returned to my desk at the end of that day, a bunch of flowers and a card were waiting for me to say thank you for all of my work over the weekend. That meant so much. The team took the on call phone from me for that evening and the following day to give me time to regroup (well, sleep!).
Banter
You have to be able to have a laugh, even when there doesn’t feel like a lot to laugh about. We had a lot of laughs in that team! Also never underestimate the power of the WhatsApp group. Some of the GIFs sent on that team chat got me through some pretty difficult Saturday nights on call…