Primal Teams: Harnessing the Power of Emotions to Fuel Extraordinary Performance

Abstract

Primal Teams: Harnessing the Power of Emotions to Fuel Extraordinary Performance Jackie Barretta 2014, American Management Association $24.95 (Hardcover), 230 pagesPrimal Teams is a look at how both positive and negative emotions should be considered in managing team performance. Barretta combines experiences from her own journey in leadership roles in Information and Technology Management, case studies from a variety of organizations, along with research from many different scientific fields, including psychology, neuroscience, quantum physics, spiritual texts, and organization development, to name a few areas. Her consulting firm, Nura Group, focuses on innovation and performance in teams. Anyone who lives and/or works in a collaborative fashion with others will relate and take away something from this book. Although Barretta focuses on teams, as human beings, we are emotional beings, and have been taught to shut our emotions out at work- don't let them see you sweat! Barretta describes many examples of how emotions should be considered to drive peak performance, or to help leaders transform a negative situation and turn it around into a positive one. She also includes helpful exercises at the end of the chapters to aid team leaders develop their skills of building emotional intelligence into teamwork.This book is timely because of the environmental trends which cause us to worry, be afraid, and wonder about our existence, our world, and our workplace. Recessionary trends have added additional questions as to whether or not we will have a job in a month, six months or year. As budgets get tighter and tighter, leaders of teams have to be cognizant of how to motivate team members to perform at a high level, and it isn't always easy. Barretta suggests that if employees can connect from their heart to the task, they can join together to innovate in ways they would be unable to by not connecting emotionally with the situation.Several areas covered in this book include: the importance of feelings and tapping them in both positive and negative situations; why emotions fuel extraordinary performance; explanations of how the cognitive function works with emotions for tapping an energy source that pushes beyond the limits of individual capabilities; how the heart affects performance; how and why play matters to break through difficult team experiences; processing through fear and negativity and its importance; groupthink and emotion; and the importance of understanding motivation and its connections to what people value.We all wish to lead successful teams and know how to deal with the challenges teams face in an erratic global environment. However, not much is written regarding a team's emotional center and connecting that energy to a mission, goal, or project. Furthermore, Primal Teams discusses how to begin to tap into intuition which Barretta suggests should be partnered with rational thinking. Barretta ends the book by discussing how to manage egos, which can obliterate a team dynamic and thwart productivity.Primal Teams has an abundance of new ideas regarding emotional team intelligence, and leaders can select techniques from the book to use, based on their team situation. Some particular areas that leaders may find useful include how to look at motivation from the standpoint of what moves an employee emotionally to get to the root of performance; how to prevent fear and negativity from impeding peak performance; to consider emotional dispositions when hiring; and use more emotional techniques to communicate effectively. …