5 Tips for Great Teamwork

Philadelphia Museum of Art's CEO Timothy Rub gathered his staff together last week to apparently apologize for the museum's handling of Joshua Helmer and the allegations of sexual misconduct that dogged his PMA tenure. The event was closed to the press, but the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Rub gave a statement similar to his initial one, offering apologies, but seemingly scant indication that museum leadership understands the gravity of the situation. Clearly, there are moments in leadership where staff expects (and needs) action not the equivalent of hopes and prayers. Also, if you haven't read Robert Weisberg's The Schrodinger's Career of Working in Museums, you probably should. Weisberg works at the Metropolitan and his blog, Museum Human, is now in its second iteration. This particular post unpacks the shape- shifting world of museums where their public faces rarely echo behind the scenes behavior. If you're having a dark day, you may want to temporarily skip this or at least follow it by reading Darren Walker's The Hard Work of Hope, Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, and believe me if he had groupies, I would be one. Wise, warm, and honest, he's the kind of true-north human we should all have in our lives. Read him whenever you can.

************* In a museum world where hierarchy continues to flatten, it's likely someday soon you'll be asked to work with individuals from another team, program or department. That may happen as part of a merger or because you're tasked with a specific project. You will suddenly find yourself sitting around a table with people you barely know, charged with something big. A speedy exit isn't an option. Instead, you need to figure out how to work together quickly and well. And inevitably, and because adulting isn't that different from 8th-grade, one of the people sitting across from you will prove themselves to be challenging. They may be unreasonable, passive-aggressive or just plain mean. They may also be lazy--forcing you and your teammates to shoulder their work as well,---while they gab from the sidelines. What should you do?

Remember why you're there: A team project isn't about you, your agenda or your individual quiver full of skills. It's about group work and the task your museum or heritage organization gave you.
Decide on team norms: These are the behaviors under which your group will operate. They can spell out something as granular as how long individuals should speak or address how to communicate respect and open-mindedness. When creating norms, don't forget to outline how they'll be used, and how you'll hold each other accountable if lines are crossed.
And what about the proverbial participant who feels its their job to stir things up? Don't engage, and for goodness sake, don't personalize what's happening. Focus instead on moving forward and problem solving. Lead from where you are, and draw the conversation back to the subject at hand.
There are people--and perhaps you know some--who take joy in arguing. It's their love language. If an arguer ends up on your team, again, separate the personal from the work-related, and pick your battles. You're not on a team to make everyone think like you. You're on a team to create, to build, to solve a problem or set of problems.
There's a lot to the proverb about attracting more flies with honey than vinegar. Not to sound like your grandma, but manners matter. You and your team all want to be safe, seen and respected. That means listening, being on time, and treating everyone, even the individual you perceive as too unimaginative to function, with respect. Do good work. Be kind. Create museum workplaces we're all proud of. Joan Baldwin Resources for Teams: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing: Bruce Tuckman's Team Stages Model Explained Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith. The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High- Performance Organization. Harvard Business Review Press. 2015 (Reprint Edition). Image: The New York Times