Yesterday, we introduced the concept of “bonding mechanisms” or, “ties that bind”.  These are the invisible, some may say ephemeral, links between people that allow us eventually to trust one another, give our loyalty to each other, empathize with one another, and perform at a very high level together, as a potential high performance team.  They may be invisible, but they are VERY REAL.  Our mission, as high performance team leaders or followers within a high performance team, is to:
 
Identify the ties that currently exist within the Team.
Create new ties unique to the team and to your mission for the Team.
Strengthen those ties by emphasizing them over the life of the team.
 
In the world today, leaders of all ilks are struggling with the same task.  Sometimes, they are helped by already existing and very powerful ties that can be used to form other ties that bind people so solidly together that they are willing and ready to die for the team.  In war, this is always the case.  In Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, there are powerful teams on every side that are bound together by incredibly strong bonds based on religion, tribal affiliation, family loyalty, social conventions, philosophical alignment, and so forth.  The United States military, for instance, is bound together by a common historical heritage and tradition, a common ideal represented by the Constitution of the United States, an oath of office or allegiance, a spelled out commitment to service, a common geographical position, uniforms, units, language, culture etc.  Each of these by themselves is a powerful bonding agent.  Together, they create an elite, highly effective team capable of outstanding performance.  On the other side, guerrilla units and terrorist cells in Afghanistan, Iraq and all over the world are bound together by religion (the ultimate teambuilding bond, by the way. It is extremely difficult for a secular bond to beat the bond of an afterlife and a oneness with God).  That bond cannot be destroyed.  It can, however, be altered.  In addition, common culture and philosophy as well as a feeling of having been wronged and devalued make for just as powerful a bond.
 
Leaders who understand EXACTLY what these bonds are can enhance them, emphasize them, or eliminate them and replace them with new bonds.  An example is the transition Japan went through after the Meiji restoration in 1868.  Here was a nation that before the 1850’s was basically feudal in nature.  Its’ warriors were armed with bow, sword and spear. They were loyal to local warlords and lived off of a peasant base.  Zen Buddhism and Confucianism were the primary religious tenets and the economy was almost entirely agriculturally based. And yet, within 40 years, they had transformed themselves into an outwardly expansionist, militaristic, modern, industrialized nation with an army and a fleet among the best in the world.  They would fight two successful wars and change the social fabric of the nation.  How did they do it?
 
They changed the ties that bind.  By emphasizing loyalty to the Emperor, they destroyed the power of the dominant warlord (the Shogun).  By creating a new “religion” around obedience to the Emperor and to the nation (Shinto), they changed the way people thought about themselves, their culture, and their nation.  By control over education, they created a whole series of new ties that radically changed what people thought was EXPECTED of them and what was POSSIBLE for them.  It worked so quickly because the Emperor’s clan had always been associated with the creation myth of the Japanese people.  It was not hard to transfer loyalty to what was essentially a religious phenomenon (the Emperor).  Nevertheless, clever men in two key clans knew exactly how to manipulate the ties that bind.
 
In the world of business, athletics, politics and so on, the path to performance is the same.  Ties must be identified, nurtured (or eliminated), and promulgated to the team (education), so that the team will rally around them.  Once this happens, trust, loyalty (even fanaticism!), performance, motivation, etc., follow.  Let’s look at some practical examples in the business world.  What do you think of when you think Disney?  Or McDonalds?  Or Starbucks?  My guess is the first image that appears is Mickey Mouse, or the “golden arches” or the Starbucks lady holding the coffee cup. The first image that appears is the symbol that defines the “brand”.  This symbol is a very powerful tie.  Those that work for these companies identify themselves with that symbol.  Beneath the symbol is a motto or saying, or something that says what the company is all about.  There is a mission statement, sometimes a vision statement, most times a credo, or code that defines behavior within the company. All of these are ties that bind and are extremely important.  We’ll talk more about them and the ways that you can create ties within your team tomorrow!