September 2015 Management Minute
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
I recently had the opportunity to work with a highly functional team of about a dozen young researchers working under extreme fatigue and duress. Their behavior shocked and informed me.
Most of the research workers are under 30 years of age, and many are in their early twenties. The project required all parties to operate on less than 4 hours of sleep for several consecutive nights and yet operate at a high level of competency during the day. The party were working with a large food production plant, requiring a great deal of quality communication, both within the team and between the team and plant personnel. Because the plant operates at a very high level of productivity with little room for “slippage” in the system, the data collection needs of the team needed to fit seamlessly into the production schedule, and personnel had to be nearly “invisible” with respect to any interference with the production system.
The team worked well throughout the project, constantly communicating with one another confirming correct data entries, sample identification, etc. Members of the team would ask others if they needed anything—either assistance or a drink or something to eat. Workers strove to maintain an upbeat attitude and some humor throughout the long days. At the end of the final evening of the data collection project—the third 18-hour day in a row—all workers energetically chipped in to clean up every trace of their presence in the food plant, loading out equipment and trash until all remnants were erased.
The researchers’ behavior shocked me in that on not one occasion were attitudes short nor did any single member of the team flag and attempt to rest while the others worked to finish the project; I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve seen much worse on projects less strenuous.
The behavior also informed me on two points:
- The researchers drew their example from their young project leader. The leader got less sleep than any other team member, staying up late to organize the subsequent days’ materials and yet this person had an upbeat and energetic demeanor throughout the project. Leadership sometimes means setting an example not just handing out duties.
- The researchers were innately team-oriented people. The individuals were each supremely capable of accomplishing their own projects with aplomb, yet subjugated their individual projects for a week to anonymously contribute to their team mate’s success, with no additional stimulation other than the satisfaction of knowing they were part of an effective team and that they had contributed to another’s success. Team work can be taught and exemplified, but it is nice when the lessons have been learned and fully internalized long before the stressful times begin.
For more information, contact Chris at 785-532-1672 or cdr3@ksu.edu.