80/20 Teamwork: The Sweet Spot

In an effort to find the perfect balance on a team, where all members are autonomous decision-makers able to move a project forward with agility, we've been practicing a new approach to teamwork. Rather than decision-by-committee, this is decision-by-individual, and the committee weighs in only on global issues (or an issue that spans all areas of expertise).

The attached diagram illustrates the overlap in expertise, and shows the sweet spot in the middle where the team must come together to make decisions. This is a perfect an example of Pareto's 80/20 Principle; the entire group overlaps 20% (well, not quite 20% but you get the idea), the other 80% is autonomous. And within just two divisions, the overlap is again only 20%. By reducing the overlap we improve the teams effectiveness because the team is not bogged down getting group approval, or consensus.

This approach allows each person to be the expert in their field, making decisions they feel are prudent, wise and keep the project moving, consulting the group on global issues when needed. In this scenario, each person is a manager-of-one. However, there needs to be equal tension and balance within the team to both provide their 20% contribution, without contributing more.

Stay tuned, we will let you know how our experiment goes!