TED Salon Brightline Initiative
Amy Edmondson: How to turn a group of strangers into a team
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Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.
Amy Edmondson - Leadership expert
Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, studies people and teams seeking to make a positive difference through the work they do. Full bio
Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, studies people and teams seeking to make a positive difference through the work they do. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
It's August 5, 2010.
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A massive collapse at the San José
Copper Mine in Northern Chile
Copper Mine in Northern Chile
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has left 33 men trapped half a mile --
that's two Empire State Buildings --
that's two Empire State Buildings --
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below some of the hardest
rock in the world.
rock in the world.
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They will find their way to a small refuge
designed for this purpose,
designed for this purpose,
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where they will find intense heat, filth
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and about enough food
for two men for 10 days.
for two men for 10 days.
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Aboveground, it doesn't take long
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for the experts to figure out
that there is no solution.
that there is no solution.
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No drilling technology in the industry
is capable of getting through rock
is capable of getting through rock
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that hard and that deep
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fast enough to save their lives.
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It's not exactly clear
where the refuge is.
where the refuge is.
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It's not even clear
if the miners are alive.
if the miners are alive.
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And it's not even clear who's in charge.
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Yet, within 70 days, all 33 of these men
will be brought to the surface alive.
will be brought to the surface alive.
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This remarkable story is a case study
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in the power of teaming.
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So what's "teaming"?
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Teaming is teamwork on the fly.
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It's coordinating
and collaborating with people
and collaborating with people
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across boundaries of all kinds --
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expertise, distance,
time zone, you name it --
time zone, you name it --
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to get work done.
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Think of your favorite sports team,
because this is different.
because this is different.
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Sports teams work together: that magic,
those game-saving plays.
those game-saving plays.
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Now, sports teams win
because they practice.
because they practice.
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But you can only practice
if you have the same members over time.
if you have the same members over time.
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And so you can think of teaming ...
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Sports teams embody
the definition of a team,
the definition of a team,
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the formal definition.
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It's a stable, bounded,
reasonably small group of people
reasonably small group of people
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who are interdependent
in achieving a shared outcome.
in achieving a shared outcome.
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You can think of teaming
as a kind of pickup game in the park,
as a kind of pickup game in the park,
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in contrast to the formal,
well-practiced team.
well-practiced team.
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Now, which one is going
to win in a playoff?
to win in a playoff?
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The answer is obvious.
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So why do I study teaming?
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It's because it's the way
more and more of us have to work today.
more and more of us have to work today.
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With 24/7 global fast-paced operations,
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crazy shifting schedules
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and ever-narrower expertise,
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more and more of us have to work
with different people all the time
with different people all the time
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to get our work done.
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We don't have the luxury of stable teams.
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Now, when you can have that luxury,
by all means do it.
by all means do it.
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But increasingly for a lot
of the work we do today,
of the work we do today,
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we don't have that option.
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One place where this is true is hospitals.
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This is where I've done
a lot of my research over the years.
a lot of my research over the years.
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So it turns out hospitals
have to be open 24/7.
have to be open 24/7.
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And patients -- well,
they're all different.
they're all different.
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They're all different
in complicated and unique ways.
in complicated and unique ways.
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The average hospitalized patient is seen
by 60 or so different caregivers
by 60 or so different caregivers
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throughout his stay.
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They come from different shifts,
different specialties,
different specialties,
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different areas of expertise,
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and they may not even
know each other's name.
know each other's name.
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But they have to coordinate in order
for the patient to get great care.
for the patient to get great care.
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And when they don't,
the results can be tragic.
the results can be tragic.
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Of course, in teaming,
the stakes aren't always life and death.
the stakes aren't always life and death.
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Consider what it takes
to create an animated film,
to create an animated film,
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an award-winning animated film.
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I had the good fortune
to go to Disney Animation
to go to Disney Animation
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and study over 900 scientists, artists,
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storytellers, computer scientists
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as they teamed up in constantly
changing configurations
changing configurations
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to create amazing outcomes like "Frozen."
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They just work together,
and never the same group twice,
and never the same group twice,
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not knowing what's going to happen next.
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Now, taking care of patients
in the emergency room
in the emergency room
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and designing an animated film
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are obviously very different work.
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Yet underneath the differences,
they have a lot in common.
they have a lot in common.
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You have to get different expertise
at different times,
at different times,
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you don't have fixed roles,
you don't have fixed deliverables,
you don't have fixed deliverables,
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you're going to be doing a lot of things
that have never been done before,
that have never been done before,
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and you can't do it in a stable team.
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Now, this way of working isn't easy,
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but as I said, it's more and more
the way many of us have to work,
the way many of us have to work,
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so we have to understand it.
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And I would argue
that it's especially needed
that it's especially needed
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for work that's complex and unpredictable
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and for solving big problems.
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Paul Polman, the Unilever CEO,
put this really well
put this really well
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when he said, "The issues we face today
are so big and so challenging,
are so big and so challenging,
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it becomes quite clear
we can't do it alone,
we can't do it alone,
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and so there is a certain humility
in knowing you have to invite people in."
in knowing you have to invite people in."
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Issues like food or water scarcity
cannot be done by individuals,
cannot be done by individuals,
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even by single companies,
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even by single sectors.
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So we're reaching out
to team across big teaming,
to team across big teaming,
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grand-scale teaming.
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Take the quest for smart cities.
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Maybe you've seen some of the rhetoric:
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mixed-use designs,
zero net energy buildings,
zero net energy buildings,
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smart mobility,
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green, livable, wonderful cities.
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We have the vocabulary,
we have the visions,
we have the visions,
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not to mention the need.
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We have the technology.
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Two megatrends --
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urbanization, we're fast
becoming a more urban planet,
becoming a more urban planet,
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and climate change --
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have been increasingly pointing to cities
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as a crucial target for innovation.
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And now around the world
in various locations,
in various locations,
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people have been teaming up
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to design and try to create
green, livable, smart cities.
green, livable, smart cities.
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It's a massive innovation challenge.
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To understand it better,
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I studied a start-up --
a smart-city software start-up --
a smart-city software start-up --
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as it teamed up
with a real estate developer,
with a real estate developer,
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some civil engineers,
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a mayor,
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an architect, some builders,
some tech companies.
some tech companies.
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Their goal was to build
a demo smart city from scratch.
a demo smart city from scratch.
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OK. Five years into the project,
not a whole lot had happened.
not a whole lot had happened.
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Six years, still no ground broken.
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It seemed that teaming
across industry boundaries
across industry boundaries
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was really, really hard.
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OK, so ...
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We had inadvertently discovered
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what I call "professional culture clash"
with this project.
with this project.
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You know, software engineers
and real estate developers
and real estate developers
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think differently --
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really differently:
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different values, different time frames --
time frames is a big one --
time frames is a big one --
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and different jargon, different language.
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And so they don't always see eye to eye.
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I think this is a bigger problem
than most of us realize.
than most of us realize.
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In fact, I think
professional culture clash
professional culture clash
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is a major barrier to building
the future that we aspire to build.
the future that we aspire to build.
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And so it becomes a problem
that we have to understand,
that we have to understand,
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a problem that we have
to figure out how to crack.
to figure out how to crack.
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So how do you make sure teaming goes well,
especially big teaming?
especially big teaming?
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This is the question I've been trying
to solve for a number of years
to solve for a number of years
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in many different workplaces
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with my research.
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Now, to begin to get just a glimpse
of the answer to this question,
of the answer to this question,
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let's go back to Chile.
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In Chile, we witnessed 10 weeks of teaming
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by hundreds of individuals
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from different professions,
different companies,
different companies,
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different sectors, even different nations.
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And as this process unfolded,
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they had lots of ideas,
they tried many things,
they tried many things,
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they experimented, they failed,
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they experienced
devastating daily failure,
devastating daily failure,
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but they picked up, persevered,
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and went on forward.
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And really, what we witnessed there
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was they were able to be humble
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in the face of the very
real challenge ahead,
real challenge ahead,
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curious -- all of these
diverse individuals,
diverse individuals,
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diverse expertise especially,
nationality as well,
nationality as well,
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were quite curious about
what each other brings.
what each other brings.
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And they were willing to take risks
to learn fast what might work.
to learn fast what might work.
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And ultimately, 17 days
into this remarkable story,
into this remarkable story,
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ideas came from everywhere.
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They came from André Sougarret,
who is a brilliant mining engineer
who is a brilliant mining engineer
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who was appointed by the government
to lead the rescue.
to lead the rescue.
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They came from NASA.
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They came from Chilean Special Forces.
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They came from volunteers
around the world.
around the world.
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And while many of us,
including myself, watched from afar,
including myself, watched from afar,
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these folks made slow,
painful progress through the rock.
painful progress through the rock.
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On the 17th day, they
broke through to the refuge.
broke through to the refuge.
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It's just a remarkable moment.
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And with just a very small incision,
they were able to find it
they were able to find it
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through a bunch
of experimental techniques.
of experimental techniques.
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And then for the next 53 days,
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that narrow lifeline would be the path
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where food and medicine
and communication would travel,
and communication would travel,
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while aboveground, for 53 more days,
they continued the teaming
they continued the teaming
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to find a way to create a much larger hole
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and also to design a capsule.
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This is the capsule.
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And then on the 69th day,
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over 22 painstaking hours,
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they managed to pull
the miners out one by one.
the miners out one by one.
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So how did they overcome
professional culture clash?
professional culture clash?
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I would say in a word, it's leadership,
but let me be more specific.
but let me be more specific.
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When teaming works,
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you can be sure that some leaders,
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leaders at all levels,
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have been crystal clear
that they don't have the answers.
that they don't have the answers.
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Let's call this "situational humility."
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It's appropriate humility.
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We don't know how to do it.
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You can be sure, as I said before,
people were very curious,
people were very curious,
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and this situational humility
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combined with curiosity
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creates a sense of psychological safety
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that allows you take risks with strangers,
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because let's face it:
it's hard to speak up, right?
it's hard to speak up, right?
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It's hard to ask for help.
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It's hard to offer an idea
that might be a stupid idea
that might be a stupid idea
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if you don't know people very well.
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You need psychological safety to do that.
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They overcame what I like to call
the basic human challenge:
the basic human challenge:
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it's hard to learn if you already know.
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And unfortunately, we're hardwired
to think we know.
to think we know.
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And so we've got to remind ourselves --
and we can do it --
and we can do it --
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to be curious;
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to be curious about what others bring.
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And that curiosity can also spawn
a kind of generosity of interpretation.
a kind of generosity of interpretation.
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But there's another barrier,
and you all know it.
and you all know it.
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You wouldn't be in this room
if you didn't know it.
if you didn't know it.
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And to explain it, I'm going to quote
from the movie "The Paper Chase."
from the movie "The Paper Chase."
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This, by the way, is what Hollywood thinks
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a Harvard professor
is supposed to look like.
is supposed to look like.
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You be the judge.
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The professor in this famous scene,
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he's welcoming the new 1L class,
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and he says, "Look to your left.
Look to your right.
Look to your right.
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one of you won't be here next year."
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What message did they hear?
"It's me or you."
"It's me or you."
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For me to succeed, you must fail.
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Now, I don't think too many organizations
welcome newcomers that way anymore,
welcome newcomers that way anymore,
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but still, many times people arrive
with that message of scarcity anyway.
with that message of scarcity anyway.
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It's me or you.
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It's awfully hard to team if you
inadvertently see others as competitors.
inadvertently see others as competitors.
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So we have to overcome that one as well,
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and when we do,
the results can be awesome.
the results can be awesome.
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Abraham Lincoln said once,
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"I don't like that man very much.
I must get to know him better."
I must get to know him better."
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Think about that --
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I don't like him, that means
I don't know him well enough.
I don't know him well enough.
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It's extraordinary.
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This is the mindset, I have to say,
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this is the mindset you need
for effective teaming.
for effective teaming.
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In our silos, we can get things done.
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But when we step back
and reach out and reach across,
and reach out and reach across,
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miracles can happen.
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Miners can be rescued,
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patients can be saved,
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beautiful films can be created.
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To get there, I think there's
no better advice than this:
no better advice than this:
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look to your left, look to your right.
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How quickly can you find
the unique talents, skills
the unique talents, skills
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and hopes of your neighbor,
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and how quickly, in turn,
can you convey what you bring?
can you convey what you bring?
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Because for us to team up
to build the future we know we can create
to build the future we know we can create
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that none of us can do alone,
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that's the mindset we need.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amy Edmondson - Leadership expertAmy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, studies people and teams seeking to make a positive difference through the work they do.
Why you should listen
Amy Edmondson's work sheds light on the related questions of why teamwork is so critically important in today’s organizations and why it is so challenging.
Long ago, approaching graduation from college, Edmondson took a leap of faith to write an advice-seeking letter to a personal hero. To her surprise, Buckminster Fuller wrote back -- and that set events in motion that would shape her life and work. Fuller's letter arrived, barely a week later, with far more than advice. The iconoclastic inventor, architect and futurist offered her a job. Spending the next three years as Fuller's "chief engineer" working on new geodesic projects, Edmondson developed an intense and enduring interest in big thinking, innovation, and the built environment. Fuller was a visionary, whose ideas about the built environment outpaced reality by decades. His remarkable legacy, however, did not answer the question of how visionaries can make practical progress in the world. Today, one answer to that question is found in teaming – in recognizing its power and its challenges.
Edmondson has been named one of the top management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 since 2011. Her other awards include the 2004 Accenture Award for significant contribution to improving the practice of management, the Academy of Management’s 2006 Cummings Award for mid-career achievement and the 2017 Thinkers50 Talent Award. Edmondson received her PhD in organizational behavior, AM in psychology and AB in engineering and design, all from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband, George Daley, and their two sons.
(Photo: Brian Smale Photography)
Amy Edmondson | Speaker | TED.com