Three Monks

Three Monks 

Building a team runs in harmony is a work of art. Team building has always fascinated me because the element of 'team dynamics' comes into play and this creates a lot of behavioral changes in people when they work in a team. These changes that arise in the team, if channelized properly can build long lasting relationships and creates a WORKPLACE that you call HOME.  


The video here, a story of three monks from a Chinese fable captures the essence of team dynamics. So, watch the video first before you move on.

 

      Lets split the movie into three parts. We move on to a part from the other when a monk joins in.

The Lone Runner:

The first monk(lets call him Jing) comes in, he sees that the monastery is in bad health. A newbie, filled with enthusiasm, the monk takes all the burden on himself, for there is no one to fall back upon. He fetches two cans of water at a time and does it with glee. Jing runs a self sufficient system. But soon, fatigue sets in. The initial enthusiasm is lost but still life goes on.!

This model of overburdening a useful resource, might give very good returns in the initial stage. But as time passes by the returns will be diminishing and the motivation to work will be long gone.

 

 

Dream Team:

Getting back to the monk story, now comes the second monk(Bing). He is extended a very warm welcome by the Jing who is more than happy that there is some one to run the show along with him now. Once the real work starts, differences set in. Jing wants to establish his superiority and Bing does not cave in.

There is an instant cold war. 

Analyzing the root cause for their difference of opinion, we can understand that it is because no 'standards' are set to run the company. There is no higher authority nor is there a rule book for the Jing and Bing to follow. This is later sorted out when Jing draws a scale and makes a fair ruling.

This is again a lesson for any company. There should be rules and not rulers.!

Awesome threesome:

After a while comes Ling, our third monk. He is plump and drains all of the water. When the time comes to refill the water, he relents. Now the other two monks who have been doing their work religiously start fighting too and everything comes to a standstill. Harmony is lost, once and forever.

Such teams are quite common in organizations. It is upto the managers to sense this enmity in the air and weed it at the budding stages.

However, in the story, the "hand of god" does it for the monks. The monastery is set of fire by a mischievous rat and the monks are left running from pillar to post. In the spurt of the moment, they throw away all their differences and  put an "emergency system into place". Somehow they tune the fire down and sit back to think on devising a sustainable system and the rest is understood.

Major Takeaways:

• No five fingers are alike. Every team comprises of people with different attributes and quality. This difference has to be channelized for the greater good.
• Standards have to be set and rules should be laid. Otherwise things head towards a haywire. 
• Teams should have sustainable models. Any team is as strong as its weakest link.