Excellent performance, it starts with a dream

Focuson what is possible, not on what is impossible

Interview byJolanda Bouman

improving teams

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If you want to bring out the best in people, you don’t start with problems or obstructions. Anje-Marijcke is adamant about that. ‘We live in a VUCA1 world with a high level of instability, which means you need teams with growth and development potential, teams with dynamics, teams that can see opportuni-ties and create new solutions. Those kinds of teams go for the best results. From psychology we know that it is better to tap into the barrel of potential: working from values with your dream in mind boosts your talent – the approach from the Compass Vision2. Naturally, there must be attention for the difficulties and situations in which you restrain yourself. But for that extra performance I always focus on what is possi-ble, not what is impossible. And on three fronts: individual, team and leadership development.’

Excellent performance, It starts with a dreamAnje-Marijcke van Boxtel Schouten GlobalCoach Team Brunel in the Volvo Ocean Race

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INTERVIEW ANJE-MARIJKE VAN BOXTEL

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VISION, PASSION AND ACTION‘Of course, there is a lot of fuss in the run-up to the race. The boat has to be restickered, there are boat trips with guests, interviews with the media. But that’s fuss, not stress! The crew, of course, would much rather just sail, but those guys realise only too well that the fuss is part of it all and that there would be no Ocean Race whatsoever without sponsors. If that is your ambition, you can deal with it and find a balance.

If you start with the problems and what is not going well, you are reac-tive. The problem then becomes the trigger of your behaviour. A problem gives stress: it must be done differ-ently. In response, you set to work to resolve the problem. And when the problem has been resolved, what do you do then? Exactly, then you don’t have to do anything. You just lay back and wait for the next problem. In terms of effectiveness, you don’t make any progress. You are just re-solving problems one at a time as they arise.

Imagine how differently you will learn, develop and perform if you start from vision, from your dream: how do you want it to be? This generates passion which leads to action aimed at that vision. You “do” things that bring your dream ever closer, which leads to even more optimistic emotions. Then you are proactive. Then you are really taking one step forward each time, with your compass pointing to where you want to be instead of what you want to get rid of. You’ll be able to learn, grow and perform to excel-lence. That is why we begin with the dream in the compass vision.

Such a proactive approach works for both individuals and teams. That’s why, in coaching Team Brunel, I started searching for the underlying values and ambitions from a concrete story. First with the members of the crew individually and later with the entire team. My first question was: “Look at your peak experience in a team. What happened then in the team, what did you think, what did you do, how was the interaction, how did you manage to reach your performance?” You will also get there by looking at your worst experience in a lousy team. Bouwe’s reaction was splen-did. “Going down with the Movistar,” he said “was the best team experi-ence of my life.” That’s something you can extract values from.’

FOCUS ON TALENT ‘Based on those values you build on the clear and challenging collective vision. The objective is clear: winning the Volvo Ocean Race. But how are we going to win, how are we as a team if we win? Who are we if we live our values, which in-clude friendship, respect, teaching and ambition, for one hundred percent? How does that look in one vision? And how do we work to get optimal results? You set your compass needle to that image. This is the engine for change. From that focus you look to see what you can change and develop, in behaviour, in communication. Who can contribute which talents? Which tal-ents should the team develop to bring that vision closer? Determine that, and then practise, experiment and fine tune. For example, challenge each other and address

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each other’s strengths to increase the level of the entire team, even if it means that you have to stretch your-self when you would preferably re-main in the background. Teaching sometimes means that you have to be more clear than you feel comfort-able with.Another group value was: “There are no I‘s in the group (egos).” There are, of course, but how do you deal with them if they threaten the dreamed group identity? You have to work on them! That will not happen overnight, of course. Developing talent is hard work. Sometimes you fall into your own trap and fall back into your old ineffective pattern - where you were crystal clear in the debrief, but you failed to act on board. But that doesn’t matter. Once you recognise this, you will know when you tend to fall back into your old pattern. More-over, you learn from that. Just get up and start all over again until that new and more effective habit has become ingrained, individually and as part of the team. My main task in that respect: exploring, mirroring and encouraging.’

INDIVIDUAL, TEAM AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT‘If you want to create a top team, you will have to work on three aspects: individual, team and lead-ership development. Because it doesn’t matter how much talent you have on board or how often you train that talent, high performance is really only created when there is precise alignment between the inner compass and the team compass, there where the three aspects overlap each other.

Initially I surprised the skipper with team coaching. “You coach me,” he said, “because I can always be a better leader. And you coach the guys separately.” A team, however, has a process of its own. It grows in its own way. As soon as he gained confidence in me, he became inter-ested and I was given time to do something with the entire group. But I started with one-on-one discussions.

That’s how, together, we build on creating a high performance team. Not by connecting to what is not going well but by focusing on talent, on what is going right, and then further developing those strengths. Initially the focus was on individual talents and ambitions, but also very soon on developing team talent and team ambition.’

IMPROVING TEAMS ACCORD-ING TO THE COMPASS VISIONIn creating excellent teams, you start by exploring what is going well in the team. Think of a situation in the past that you are proud of. What did you do at the time? Which skills did you use? That’s where we start. Because that’s where the values lie.The steps are then:1 Definition What’s it all about,

what are we going to work on (winning the Volvo)?

2 Discovery What are collective values from the perspective of what works in a team?

3 Dream What is the collective aspiration? Imagine what might be if we take our values seriously. How are we as a team in order to win the Volvo?

4 Design Determine what should

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be. What do we decide, how should it look? Action planning, indeed.

5 Deliver Create what will be, im-plement, do it, get down to work.

6 Review Reflection in and on ac-tion. What works, what are we going to work on, what are we going to change?’

• People trust each other.• The leader is optimistic about the

result and has high expectations of his team.

I am truly amazed by this team. They share that dream unanimously. Their confidence is tremendous, as is their commitment. Bouwe is a strong leader with a keen eye for the capabilities of his crew and lives by the credo “making mistakes is not a problem as long as you learn from them”. That is something they do really well. In my team coaching I have focused on communication: the patterns, openness, accountability, feedback, confrontation and expres-sion. And turning a conflict-avoidant culture into an effective, more problem-solving conflict culture3. Not that there were conflicts; on the contrary. They were really nice to each other; however, you want them to bring their issues assertively and openly to the table so that a solution can be found quickly – before it turns into a conflict.’

INCREASING ENERGY SOURCES‘In line with my compass vision, creating a context that encourages learning and development - before and during the race - is a major step towards increasing the result of the individuals and the team. Energy sources which, according to the Job-Demands-Resources model, further increase learning and result in:• Transformational leadership • Having room for autonomy/

measurement and control• Self-development• Peers

QUALITIES OF A HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAM‘A team of excellence can be recognised by a number of qualities:• It is focused on the result, the

collective dream. Team interest has precedence over that of the individual.

• It feels and takes on responsibility and calls each other to account.

• It is committed. The priorities are clearly defined and you learn from your mistakes.

• The team is not afraid of conflicts, speaks up and respects each other’s opinions.

1. Definition

4. Design

2. Discovery

3. Dream

6. Review

5. Deliver

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• Feedback• A good work/life balance• Clarity about your role.

In the first three points you can see what an impact a strong leader has. He is respected and his behaviour is imitated: the leader is the determin-ing factor. Bouwe is a strong leader and a role model. He is ultimately responsible in a way that you do not often see in the business communi-ty, and he must delegate responsi-bility to his people to enable them to grow. And the men themselves are very important for the success of the team too. I have never worked with a team before that needed each other so much. Peers help you grow. These men cannot learn or perform without each other.

It is difficult enough in organisations to create a context in which all those factors are fully met, but on board it is much more difficult. During the race Team Brunel lives in a space comprising twenty square metres with eight plus one man (the on-board reporter). The work/life balance is a major issue. Sometimes you don’t even see your girlfriend or family at a stop-over. And your responsibility varies regularly with a schedule of four hours on, four hours off. Privacy? None at all. You have to practically share everything, even your sleeping bag. Your own space is not much more than the space in your own mind. That is ex-actly why it is so important to know yourself really well: your own values, potential and restraints. You have to follow your own internal compass. You are then at your strongest and capable of handling most things.’

FEEDBACK‘Feedback was a different story alto-gether. Feedback is the most impor-tant reinforcer of new behaviour and thus extremely important in creating high performance. But, actually, it didn’t happen in this team. Why and when do you ask for feedback? When and how do you give feed-back? Feedback about what went wrong, but especially about what went right. Giving and receiving feedback to improve instead of hear-ing that you’re out. You don’t neces-sarily have to rely on the skipper for this. Informal leaders can also play a role in this regard. Pablo, for exam-ple, had a lot of patience and fun in teaching during the selection time and Jens was good at explaining very precisely. Gerd-Jan was into explaining on the foredeck and when you took the trouble to consult Andrew, you received something very valuable in return. Once the selec-tion was complete and the team final, the relationships changed and addressing one another neededattention. These were the guys we were going to continue with, thus the method of working was more persis-tent. On the other hand, irritations also arose more quickly when feed-back was not heard. Where one person requires stronger language in order to hear it, the other has to stretch in style. Failing to address this is not an option for either party.

I find it an honour to be able to help these men build on their values and strengths and gain insights into their obstructions and irrational patterns. To be able to contribute to the growth of this amazing and humorous team!’

1 Vuca= volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous

2 The Compass Vision is the vision on learning, development and performance of Schouten Global, developed by Anje-Marijcke van Boxtel.

3 For further infor-mation, see the article Friction and conflicts (between the chapters 4 and 5).

Giving and receiving feedback to improve

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The leader has high expectations of the team


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Leadership & Management

Excellent performance, it starts with a dream