You may recall the old exercise that was sometimes announced by a facilitator on team workshops. They said:

“This afternoon you will all be going on a parachute jump. But there is one condition. You are not allowed to pack your own parachute. You must choose somebody else in the team to do that job. So who will you pick to pack your parachute?”

The announcement was, of course, a joke. But it underlines a key point. It is vital to build a team of ‘parachute packers’ – people who you can rely on to deliver the goods. Let’s look at the actual team you work in at the moment – and imagine you are the leader of that team. Here are three steps towards building a team of reliable people.

1) You can clarify where you are a superb parachute packer.

Everybody is a parachute packer in some activities but not in others. A person may be brilliant at fixing computers, counselling troubled people, cooking a banquet or whatever. They are absolutely reliable when performing certain tasks – but they do not have the interest, eye for detail or finishing ability in others. Consider yourself as a leader. You may be superb at clarifying the strategy, communicating a vision, providing support to your people, making tough decisions or whatever. On the other hand, you may have little feeling or interest in technical detail, public relations or managing day-to-day operations. So what are the specific leadership activities that you can be relied on to deliver? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific activities where I
am a good parachute packer are:

*

*

*

2) You can clarify where other people are superb parachute packers.

“Tackling this exercise was an eye-opener,” said one leader. “My first response was to say there were many parachute packers in the team. But then I had second thoughts. Looking at the team: a) Four people were utterly reliable and loved their roles. b) Three people were reliable but bored in their roles. c) Two people enjoyed parts of their roles but were disinterested in crucial activities. d) One person was simply not suited for the role or the team.”

“Bearing this in mind, I made several decisions. These included: a) To encourage the parachute packers to build-on and – if they wished – expand their roles into other areas. b) To encourage the ‘bored’ people to craft their ‘perfect roles’ and hand-over other parts of their roles. c) To invite one person who enjoyed part of their role to expand this aspect into a full-time role; but to encourage the other person who was only partly interested in their role to move on. d) To find somebody who could fill the non-performer’s role.”

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Looking at the actual team where you work at the moment, imagine you are the leader. Consider everybody in the team and complete the following sentences.

The people who are parachute
packers and enjoy their roles are:

*

*

*

The people who are parachute packers but
are bored with some or all of their roles are:

*

*

The people who are parachute packers in parts of their
roles but do not deliver on other crucial activities are:

*

*

The people who may not be the
right fit for the role or the team are:

*

3) You can build a team of superb parachute packers.

Leaders sleep easier at night when they have the right people implementing the right strategy in the right way. This calls for getting reliable people throughout the whole team. The worst phrase to use with some leaders is ‘trust me’. They do not believe in ‘trust’; they believe in ‘certainty’. They follow the maxim extolled by one of the Red Arrows flying team, who said: “When turning right, we do not ‘trust’ that everybody else has turned right. We know that everybody has turned right.” That is why leaders like ‘parachute packers’. They know the jobs will get done, so therefore sleep easier at night.

Imagine you are the leader of your team. Looking at your answers to the exercise in the previous section, what decisions must you take? How can you make sure that people are doing work they enjoy and can be relied on to deliver the goods? After taking these steps, are there still any team activities that remain uncovered? How can you make sure those tasks are completed successfully? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things we can do to build a team of superb parachute
packers & make sure all the activities are completed successfully are:

*

*

*