Book review: THE SYNERGIST
How to lead your team to predictable success
Genres:
- Leadership
- Business Management
Review posted on:
23.02.2019
The number of pages:
272 pages
Book rating:
3/5
Year the book was published:
First edition published 2012
Who should read this book:
- People in leadership roles, people in HR, consultants.
Why did I pick up this book and what did I expect to get out of it:
I decided to pick up “The Synergist” by Les McKeown because I have seen firsthand how teams full of experts in their field failed to accomplish the teams’ goals. The problem wasn’t in the knowledge they had or didn’t have, it was that they couldn’t come to an agreement on what are the priorities and how to get things done. Can situations like this be avoided? Well, Les McKeown thinks they can, so I decided to see what he has to say about this subject.
I expect to learn how to analyze your team, and how to figure out how each member of your team functions best and what you can do about it. I would love to see some examples of how the author dealt with dysfunctions in teams he met while consulting them.
My thoughts about the book:
If you were or still are wondering how things could have gone better then you might find a couple of answers in this book. When doing the book review I was a bit conflicted on how I should rate it. The message of the book is very interesting, but at the same time, the book is too long (at certain points of the book, the author is stretching out his theory and it gets repetitive). But all in all the message is clear and I found a new point of view on teamwork that I will definitely use in my future endeavors.
If you pick up this book please let me know what you think of it in the comment section.
A short summary of the book:
When you are in a situation that demands teamwork there is no place to think that you know everything, or that your point of view and your goals or tasks are most valid. A very important lesson that I have learned from the book is that even if you are a team player many times you forget that other members of your team have their own points of view about the tasks at hand. And also that they interpret the teams’ goal in their own manner based on their style of processing information and working style. When that happens some members of the team might think they did their job when actually the team is only halfway done. But when you have a Synergist in your team his job is to spot these types of behavior and get all the members of the team back on track. Another great lesson from the book is the fact that you should add or remove members of your team based on which stage of the endeavor the team is in. Having all types of members (Visionary, Operator, Processor) at the same time without the Synergist will most probably result in the team not being able to effectively function, ending in missed opportunities and high costs for your organization.
My notes from the book:
- We all have a definite leaning towards one primary style, and we also have a secondary tendency. Each style has its own perks. For example, Visionaries are most motivated by starting something new and solving a problem (an intellectual challenge). Operators are motivated by finishing a task and by fixing something that didn’t work. The processor is motivated by bringing order to chaos (systematizing) and supervising.
- One of the main problems in a team is that each type (V – visionary, O – operator, P – processor) has their own goals for the same task. The Visionaries default assumption is that his goal is to solve a challenge/task once he finds the answer his job is complete. The Operator's default goal is action, they want to decide and do. They don’t do well in groups if there is no action. The Processor's ultimate goal is to create a controlling cocoon of systems and processes (they want to analyze and align).
- The Visionary's perspective is from on high – “The big picture” and they primarily see patterns. The Operator's focus is on execution and getting things done, so they see opportunities and obstacles. The processor's perspective is on compliance and contingent liability.
- When starting a project you don’t need a perfect V-O-P-S balance. You build the team as the need dictates based on the stage in which the company is in.
- Use the Visionary and Synergist to brainstorm. Then use the Operator and the processor to translate that into action.
