Admittedly, the first thoughts of Kākou are as a warm and fuzzy “soft concept” because of its definitive associations with words like inclusiveness and togetherness. However the Kākou connection to cultural business savvy is pretty undeniable: People can achieve more in the team dynamic, and they can feel much better about it in comparison to the singularity of individual achievement.
Just yesterday I had a conversation with a marketer who is a well known business leader in Hawaii, in which he expressed to me the cultural limitation we can have in the islands, one self-imposed by our desire for more humility. You might recall that Herman Najoli, author of Ideal Strategies, expressed a similar sentiment in his comment recently:
My community back in Africa emphasized group endeavors that are driven by the contributions of all within them. Personal endeavor was shunned but personal commitment to the group was celebrated. In that sense, my people's paradigm was that there is no I in team but there are two I's in winning. If we are going to win, every single 'I' in the community had to bring his or her very best to the 'we'.
Just as Herman did, we brought yesterday’s conversation back to the concept of we and Lōkahi teams, asking each other, “well, why should we push them into this individually when [our project] can be accomplished just as effectively within a team?” and by conversation’s end, we discovered that our list of potential benefits was much more impressive and desirable.
The current issue of Fortune Magazine highlights teaming as one of 9 to-do suggestions offered in an article by Geoff Colvin called, How top companies breed stars; The world's best companies realize that no matter what business they're in, their real business is building leaders. Here's how the champs do it.
Fortune has teamed with Hewitt, the world's largest human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, and RBL Group, a consulting firm specializing in leadership development, to conduct new research into the ways companies around the world are developing leaders and which are doing it best. ... These companies operate in every kind of industry and are based all over the world. But what's most striking are traits they share - specifically, nine practices that combine to create world-class leadership development.
- Invest Time and Money
- Identify Promising Leaders Early
- Choose Assignments Strategically
- Develop Leaders Within Their Current Jobs
- Be Passionate About Feedback and Support
- Develop Teams, Not Just Individuals
- Exert Leadership Through Inspiration
- Encourage Leaders To Be Active In Their Communities
- Make Leadership Development Part of the Culture
Here is the detail of number 6: Develop Teams, Not Just Individuals
"At the GE I grew up in, most of my training was individually based," says Immelt. That led to problems. He'd attend a three-week program at Crotonville, but back at work "I could use only 60% of what I'd learned because I needed others - my boss, my IT guy - to help with the rest." And maybe they weren't onboard. Now GE takes whole teams and puts them through Crotonville together, where they make real decisions about their business. Result: "There's no excuse for not doing it."
Sometimes the team approach is cultural. The Finnish culture of Nokia rejects the concept of stars; the company focuses on leadership rather than leaders, and decisions depend heavily on consensus. In some companies that would be a recipe for low motivation and gridlock, but it works at Nokia.
The message? Don’t fight team, capitalize on it. Just as we learn in Managing with Aloha, capitalize on, and optimize Kākou.
Have you had experiences similar to that expressed by GE Chief Jeff Immelt of GE above?
How does your own local culture factor into team dynamics?
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