On Teaming

What relay racing taught me about the possibilities in teams

by Jamie Muskopf, DSW, MS, MSIS, CKM

When I was 35, I was newly remarried to a younger, fitter, handsome Navy lieutenant, we had a new baby, and for all those reasons, I was determined to get into optimal shape so I took up running. This might sound practical, but I never ran more than maybe a half mile in my life (and that was in high school) so Couch to 5K was going to be a challenge.

First time out, I remember not knowing how to lock the jogging stroller wheel and struggling to make it a mile in our then very hilly neighborhood (on the down slope!) I had another baby 18 months later and the lean mean jogging stroller became a double wide heavyweight we called “Strollzilla”. Only later did we upgrade to the famous BOB (and it was absolutely life changing).

By the time I turned 40, I’d run hundreds of miles, 13 half marathons, 2 Spartan trifectas, countless 5K and 10k races, then finally a marathon. I could share so many lessons from that journey (and probably will do that here, fair warning) but as Facebook Memories seem to exist to inspire me to write, I’ll celebrate what running taught me about teaming thanks to the photo reshared by my friend and running mate Betsy.

This is a photo of me (blue hat) with our informally assembled team of fellow military spouses finishing the Honolulu Ekiden relay race. We were all friends, but not necessarily all besties. We were not a running team, but one that formed when the opportunity came up to run a relay. In business, this formation is known as teaming. Amy Edmonson describes teaming as being “about identifying essential collaborators and quickly getting up to speed on what they know so you can work together to get things done.”

In the case of the Honolulu Ekiden, one of us found an opportunity, sent out an open call for teammates in our running group, and we were teamed up! We all ran at different paces and on the day of the race, not all of us were in great health (I’m pretty sure I had a cold and hadn’t run in a while). But as a team, we had a well communicated objective, clear coordination (I mean look at that attire), and though each of us ran our own race at different paces, we worked together to optimize our collective performance and finished strong as a team (though our pants may or may not have been terribly uncomfortable).

As I think about the future of work and our increased desire to change unhealthy work cultures and practice better leadership, I look at teaming as an optimal opportunity to practice and experience success and growth. Edmonson writes, “Today’s leaders must…build a culture where teaming is expected and begins to feel natural, and this starts with helping everyone to become curious, passionate, and empathic.”

Our relay team formed because one person was curious and asked for participation. Those most passionate said yes! And our decisions and performance were greatly impacted by our ability to empathize with our teammates — who was struggling, who needed help, who could adjust to help us make up for lost time, what order did we need to run the race.

The next time I ran a relay, the team was different but we followed a similar process. It’s that approach and the way the group valued and practiced curiosity, passion, and empathy, that made it a tremendous experience.

What was your last teaming experience like and how has teaming changed for you with remote work? I’d love to hear in the comments.