A Team’s Hierarchy of Needs

I sometimes take the simplest things for granted.

• Electricity until the North East Coast blackout of 2003 left us all in the dark for days
• Drinking water until I hear about drinking water kits being sent to 3rd world countries
• Gathering in person with family and friends until a global pandemic comes along in 2020
• Internet and cellular service until Rogers went dark in 2022
• Sunny skies until the ashes from out-of-control 2023 forest wild fires a province away block out the sun

When we can’t count on the simple things, nothing else much matters.

I’ve always appreciated the simplicity of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. From the basic essentials of shelter and safety to the existential concept of self-actualization, it seemed a reasonable progression of human needs.

I was reminded of it with Jeffrey Liker’s Toyota Way story of Toyota using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to build better relationships with its partners. In essence, your partners won’t be interested or focused on growing themselves if you haven’t taken care of their basic needs first, like financials and safe working conditions.

I’ve witnessed my share of management practices that violated this logical progression of needs leading to undesirable consequences.

• Reckless empowerment: Inviting people to make their own decisions and do what they think is right not because they’re ready do so but because it’s fashionable to do so
• “Make it so” orders: Charismatic, macho leaders who have more testosterone than common sense
• Overnight change expectations: Unrealistic, unreasonable and magical thinking

According to David Marquet, author of Turn The Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders, handing over control to some one or some group is most successful when it’s preceded by demonstrated clarity and competence. Clarity of purpose and context for what’s being controlled. Competence and experience with the skills needed for the domain of control. Delegating control without confirming clarity and competence may lead to one or more of the undesirable consequences described previously.

If we were to map each layer of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to what a team needs before it becomes high performing and in control of its destiny, what could a team’s progress up the hierarchy look like?

Here’s what it could look like to me. I’ve contrasted an individual’s progression on the left with a team’s progression on the right.

Diving in a little deeper on a team’s hierarchy needs, here are some additional markers to help position where a team might be in its progression:

1. Physiological: “We have our team space & lots of whiteboards”
   • Does the team have a dedicated space for each of its team members to colocate together. Preferably physically but can be virtually as well and all hybrid combinations in between.
   • How do you provide sustenance for a team? Feed its spirit of creativity and innovation by supplying copious whiteboards, flip charts, Post-it notes, sharpies and markers!
2. Safety: “I’m at ease with my team mates”
   • Hopefully, physical safety is a given. The focus here then, is on psychological safety.
   • Do team members feel safe to voice what’s really on their mind without any political filters or fear of repercussions?
   • Is there mutual respect between all team members?
   • Is there mutual respect between team and management?
   • How is conflict within the team dealt with?
   • Is there an equitable share of voice during any team or team member interactions?
3. Love / Belonging: “I identify with my team”
   • Do the team members feel a sense of belonging to each other as a cohesive and inclusive unit with a mix of shared and diverse aspirations, values and beliefs?
   • Do the team members identify first with their team and second with their area of expertise, department or functional silo?
   • Do the team members feel they have each other’s back?
4. Esteem: “We rock!”
   • Is the team made up of “I-shaped” or T-shaped” people?
   • When a team member talks or shares, how engaged are the other team members?
   • How often does the team celebrate its accomplishments?
   • How often does the team celebrate individual accomplishments?
   • When a team faces a challenge or adversity, how do they respond?
5. Self Actualization: “We will adapt”
   • Does the team know its “why”? Does it question it?
   • How much curiosity exists within the team to seek continuous learning and improvement?
   • How often do you hear team members talk about hypotheses, experiments and failure?
   • What happens when a team member leaves the team?

Is your team on training wheels riding tentatively around the backyard? Or, has your team cast off its training wheels and is riding effortlessly around the neighbourhood?

Don’t be in a rush to take off the training wheels. Honour the team’s hierarchy of needs.