It's about the linkages, not the links !

The "weakest link" is a popular metaphor. The origin is in mechanics: a chain used to lift stuff can only lift something that matches the strength of the weakest of the links in the chain. Anything heavier will break this link, and therefore the chain. This nice image is used to think about teams, where the overall performance of the team is constrained or defined by the strength (or weakness) of the weakest team member.

Well, I disagree. First of all, what do we do with the weakest link once it is identified ? Train it ? Coach it ? Fire and replace it ... ? Whatever you do, once the weakest link is no longer the weakest ... another one has become the new weakest. And so we repeat at nauseam.

No, I don't think this way of looking at your team is all that helpful. What is helpful, is not to think how you can change this or that link (team member), but to work on the LINKAGES between these links (team members). You can have a team with super-powerful and highly efficient links (team members), but if link A doesn't communicate with link B, or shortcuts link B, or undoes what link B has done, or demotivates B, you have a group with strong links but no overall performance. If on the other hand, the different links (team members), despite their respective and individual strengths, support each other, motivate each other, step in when someone is struggling, your overall team performance will by far exceed the strength of its weakest, or even of its strongest member !

So work on the linkages. On how people communicate with each other. How they motivate and challenge each other. How they step up to help when someone's overloaded or absent. How they share and learn together. As a leader of a team, continuously working on these linkages is how you will strengthen your overall team, not by looking for which link is the weakest and then focusing your energy there.

Where's your heart at ?

I am very luck that I speak Thai rather well. When I deliver a workshop with a team in Thailand, I make sure that some English jargon or particular expressions that are used in the slides, are well understood by the audience.

Just last week, I had an interesting experience. I

wanted to make sure that the group thoroughly understood the expressions "Putting yourself in their shoes" and "Coming from your gut", two idioms we use in English and easily understand the figurative meaning. When I asked the group for the Thai equivalent, they translated as something that translates back into English as "Putting their heart in our heart" and "Coming from the heart". Very interesting how these expressions - with shoes and guts in English - both come back to the heart.

And I again came to realize that this is one of the keys of working with teams in Thailand. There is no secret formula, but too often I see foreigners struggling with finding a connection with their team. They say all the right things, try to motivate, do fun stuff, communicate, communicate, communicate, and learn a bit of Thai language. Yet despite all this, many still say that they are not getting the performance or engagement that they want out of their team.

So maybe the secret is in adding a bit of "heart" to things. Sharing your feelings. Asking others about theirs. These things are often looked upon in the West as personal, private and not really belonging in the workplace (or at least, they are not things for the manager/boss to bring into the workplace context or conversations). Yet, in Thailand, with so many things going to and coming from the "heart", getting comfortable and adapting your style by adding in a bit more "heart" will definitely go a long way.