Remote Teams Dynamics

Lessons from Nature - Where the River Meets the Sea

So much of what we want to understand about a thriving business can be found mirrored in nature.

Age-old principles we find at work in the natural order of things; especially when it comes to what sustains life or how the elements inter-operate, can provide powerful insight into how vital systems work best.

Many organisations have been forced to adapt to a distributed team structure due to COVID-19 restrictions, and this has created an unusual and uncertain landscape that is both unfamiliar and hard to navigate.

To help understand some important dynamics that this shift has caused, we will discover that the mouth of a large river, the point where it approaches the open sea, can provide us with a wonderful mirror in the natural world.

Rivers are amazing subjects that can teach us so much in terms of life-sustaining systems and in the following lesson, we'll see how key factors effecting two natural ecosystems can be seen to reflect issues that we may now be facing. 

In what follows, the river simply represents the way your team operates. 

Treating the sea as the destination, a pool of clients or the open market to whom you must deliver, I'm going to compare and contrast two very different scenarios; that of an ESTUARY and that of a DELTA.

It might be worth noting that deltas and estuaries only occur for large, mature rivers; small, young rivers will have little impact on the shape of the land or the waters of the sea.

​LESSONS FROM THE ESTUARY
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Estuaries form where a large river approaches the sea and an expanse of water is created in which the fresh river water and the saline waters of the sea become mixed. There are many key attributes we can identify in this environment that can teach us about the power of a united team.

ENERGY: 
A single channel of water in the natural world tends to run deeper and provides reduced friction with the river bed and banks, as the overall area of contact is minimised. Less friction at these points of contact means there is more energy available to carry a greater load of sediment downstream towards the sea - the ultimate destination. 

Smaller watercourses that link up with a main river are known as 'tributaries'. Tributaries frequently join estuaries, swelling the overall river volume. This water is also often less heavy with sediment and, carrying less of a load, this water provides an energy boost from the moment it joins.

When incumbent, executive teams are in danger of becoming stale, in the same way that tributaries con-tribute a new boost of life to the river, it can be very helpful to introduce a little 'fresh blood'. This can provide an extremely beneficial boost in overall energy as well as fresh perspectives and methods that lead to an increase in momentum and productivity.

Any broadening of a river channel will naturally cause the velocity of the water to slow. This reduction in movement, this loss of energy, will reduce the water's ability to erode rock and soil and also cause any sediments in the water to be deposited where it slows. This is noticeable where the land flattens out, but where there are steep sides to the estuary right down to the sea, little deposition will occur.

To ensure your team carry their tasks through to the end, keep clear and beneficial constraints in place, right to the end.

CONSTRAINT:
The biggest factor that determines whether a river will end in an estuary or a delta is the geomorphology of the area; the geology and the elevation of the land. That is to say that large, hard rock formations constrain the passage of water, keeping it in a narrow, single channel - the path of least resistance. Cliffs and steep sided valleys act as barriers that are slow to change (erode) over time and so the flow of water (think 'energy') is tightly focused.

In the same way, your team must carry out their activities in a united way, with a view to the 'high ground' that defines their purpose, priorities (values) and principles. These constraints forge powerful cultural dynamics that, if adopted willingly by the team, will act as important 'glue' - keeping a sense of unity and focus.

FOCUS:
The constraints provided by the physical geography invariably cause the river to flow as a single channel. Though the channel may widen in the very last stretch towards the sea, it still engages with the sea in a relatively narrow area along the coastline. 

The hidden result of this that the more focused, faster flowing river waters push further out into the ocean (impact and market penetration) than we would see at a delta. Focus pays off - but it starts long before the river hits the sea.

For your team, focus is defined as a key objective or 'Commander's Intent,' to use military language, and maintained by SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that predefine precisely how any repetitive task must be carried out.
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In summary, estuaries are much more energy-efficient; consisting of a single, deeper channel of faster flowing water that carries and delivers greater volumes of material, further out into the sea.

​LESSONS FROM THE DELTA

This is where the remote team situation finds it natural metaphor.

(LACK of) CONSTRAINT:
Deltas form where there are very few geographical (often geological) constraints present. Your team may recently have been freed from their geographical constraints in a similar way.

The water of the river is essentially free to find its own path. The result is that multiple channels spread out over a wide area and long, marshy islands take shape quite naturally; separating lines of water, which all significantly slow their pace. Cliques and enclaves often develop in remote teams, where individuals limit their personal and professional interactions to a few, preferred others, rather than inputting into the wider team.

(LACK of) FOCUS:
Deltas cover vast areas. They are, in this way, lacking in any clear point of focus. Energy is dissipated as the shallow waters feel the drag of the river bed. 

​ENERGY:
The velocity of the river water at a delta slows dramatically as separate channels emerge and each one becomes more and more shallow. The separate water channels make much less of an impact than would a single, united, focused channel of flow. 

A lot of energy is used up dealing with 'internal issues'. These internal issues distract from the job in hand - the primary purpose of carving the land and carrying sediment out to the sea. The water comes up against:

• marshy islands - separating the channels of water, increasing inefficiencies, preventing productive collaboration, decreasing 'communication'
• the build up of sediment - clogging the channels, providing further rooting opportunities for vegetation
• high levels of evaporation - reducing the medium of change. The large surface area of the shallow water channels lead to a significant amount of water volume being lost to the air.

With so little energy available, sediments carried by the river are often deposited long before it reaches the sea and vegetation is able to take a hold in these deposits - slowing the water flow even further.​

Notice also that there are very rarely any tributaries joining, and thus contributing to, the latter stages of a river that ends in a delta - so no new energy enters the system.

To summarise, deltas are very inefficient systems in terms of their management of energy; consisting of a multiple, dispersed channels of shallow, slower-flowing water that often delivers little of its load to the sea. 

Whilst they are 'perfect' in the natural world; a result of forces that seek to create an enduring balance, they also reveal the inevitable inefficiencies that result from unguided, unfocused energy and may reflect ways in which your team are struggling to manage the current mandate to operate remotely.

What's been your experience? Post your comments about any of the factors highlighted here and any you've seen reflected in your own situation. I'm sure there are more, so do list any further contributions you might have too. Thanks.