Tools for
Teams: The TetraMap®
Guiding Teams Toward Synergy
Nature = Synergy
The natural elements of earth, air, water, and fire are
embedded in cultural myths and legends from all parts of
our globe. These same elements offer a backdrop for a
metaphor that has imaginatively and effectively provided
a model of synergy for team development.
Consider nature as a manifestation of synergy. Wherever
you may be, look at the elements of earth, air, water,
and fire. What have they created, developed, destroyed?
The interdependent elements, like a team, are constantly
in motion, affecting each other and impacting the world
in a myriad of ways. When we use nature as the metaphor,
it follows to ask of teams…What if our team could
mirror and create the synergy we see in nature? What
difference would it make to us, to our performance and
results? Can our results create THAT kind of
synergy?
The TetraMap®
The TetraMap is a model that uses nature as a metaphor to
demonstrate synergy. It helps us to simplify the
complexities of our personal and organizational
challenges.
The three dimensional explanation of this model is the
tetrahedron. This geometric shape was deemed to be
“the minimal structural system in [the]
Universe,” according to Buckminster Fuller,
architect, inventor, and humanitarian
(1895–1983).
Each side of this four-sided pyramid is the keeper of one
of these elements. Each side of the tetrahedron is an
integral part of the whole. Any movement along, within,
or on the face of earth, air, water, or fire affects all
three other elements. The four elements, working to form
the tetrahedron, create a structural, interdependent
synergistic system.
Nature as a Metaphor
Earth is firm, air is clear, water is
calm, and fire is bright.
Unfold the tetrahedron to create the TetraMap of
nature:
With our ever-increasing challenges, can we, as
responsible beings contributing to humanity, be firm in
our conviction, clear in thought, calm in perseverance,
and choose a bright vision? These are questions we ask of
each other. As a team, are we firm in our goals and
direction, clear in our knowledge and reason, calm in our
values and unity, and bright in our motivation and
spirit?
Teams Down Under
Like every country, New Zealand has its share of amazing
teams who create amazing results. Recently amidst the
turmoil and sadness that has affected the world, New
Zealand lost one of its most highly respected, legendary
team leaders, Sir Peter Blake (pictured below on
left).
More memorable in my mind than his incredible sailing
feats, bringing and keeping the America’s Cup to
New Zealand, and his commitment to the planet in his
endeavors in Antarctica and the Amazon, was his ability
to reflect the synergy every team strives to
create.
Blake not only modeled the synergy of the four elements:
earth, air, water, and fire, he lived and breathed
success into and out of every single member of his small
but mighty teams. Inviting him as a surprise speaker at
our corporate team conference, the surprise was far more
than introducing the man himself, but observing his
greatness and humility.
In many ways, like New Zealand, Blake exuded
nature’s elements of firmness in courage, clarity
of thought, persevering calmness, and an incredible
brightness of future with dignity and humility. He spoke
of the values that held the team together through
seemingly insurmountable challenges. A list of just a few
of the team’s values may illustrate
this:
- Integrity.
- To succeed and make the public proud of the
team.
- To play nicely together and share your
toys.
- Be squeaky clean and play by the
rules.
- Everybody has the right to express an
opinion.
The sports metaphor is a powerful one and has served
team-building efforts for decades. The story of Blake and
his teams goes beyond what is possible when teams work.
It’s about how teams demonstrate their
“teamness” and how they remain motivated and
focused.
A quote from yet another quiet achiever—perhaps
this is the nature of our Down Under sailors—John
Bertrand sums up teamwork nicely. Bertrand was the first
skipper to pry the America’s Cup loose from
America’s 132-year grasp. The Aussies picked up the
gauntlet of victory with incredible
teamwork.
America did not lose the America’s Cup, as
so many newspapers and magazines and, indeed, books would
have us believe. The Australians came and won the
America’s Cup. We came and took it away with
brilliant crew work, seamanship, preparation,
administration, and a very, very fast boat. And we won it
because, in the end, we wanted it most. The Americans had
a team of champions, but we were a champion
team.
(Born to Win, John Bertrand, Patrick
Robinson, 1985)
Lessons From New Zealand
Living in New Zealand, becoming a Kiwi at heart, and
still visiting the United States three to four times a
year, I continue to learn so much about teams and the
myths that surround good team building. New Zealand
provides a refreshing perspective on how teams operate.
There’s something very strong, quiet, and deep
flowing about teamness that I’ve learned in my
years of working Down Under, in the United States, and
Mexico. I’m convinced that our metaphor of nature
and the TetraMap will continue to support teams to
understand how and why synergy can make all the
difference.
Remembering the four elements of nature: earth, air,
water, and fire, the TetraMap of teamwork provides a
mirror to teams, giving clarity to how synergy can be
created. A question you might ask is: “What would
my team look and act like if we were truly synergistic?
What are the potential results?”
Use the TetraMap and begin to release the elements within
your team:
- Earth: Do you have firm
goals?
- Air: Are your rules and systems
clear?
- Water: Are your values calm and
deep?
- Fire: Is your spirit
bright?
Then ask the harder question: What will we need
to do differently to start creating synergy?
YOSHIMI BRETT is a third
generation Japanese, American, and Kiwi (New Zealander).
She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, but in her excitement
to share the TetraMap, she and her partner travel to the
United States and Mexico several times a year. For more
information on the TetraMap visit www.tetramap.com
or
contact Brett at info@learnology.co.nz
.
Remembering Peter Blake, “Seafarer With a
Conscience”
(Excerpts from an account of Peter Blake’s life and
abrupt, tragic death.)
As a competitive sailor, Sir Peter Blake navigated the
world’s most dangerous oceans: competing in seven
round-the-world races and fearing for his and his
crew’s lives in 1994 when they found themselves
amid icebergs, 70-knot winds, and huge waves. He survived
that harrowing experience and others during his exemplary
offshore racing career. He also survived and thrived in
the Byzantine subculture and spymaster mentality of the
America’s Cup, leading New Zealand to its first
victories in yachting’s most prestigious
competition in 1995 and 2000. But he did not survive a
straightforward journey down the Amazon River on an
environmental research vessel. On December 6, a small
band of robbers boarded his vessel with guns drawn.
According to initial police reports, the charismatic
53-year-old yachtsman was shot and killed after he
charged up from below decks to confront the assailants
and protect his 10-member crew.
“Such a shock and such a waste of an important
life,” said Tom Schnackenberg, who was part of
Blake’s triumphant America’s Cup teams and
replaced him as head of the New Zealand syndicate that
will defend the Cup in 2003. The Kiwis’ 5-0 victory
over Dennis Conner and the United States in San Diego in
1995 was one of the most remarkable performances in the
Cup’s long history.
Blake’s death represents a missed opportunity for
the global environmental movement. After spending the
first three decades of his sailing career obsessively
chasing trophies, he formed his own organization,
Blakexpeditions, backed by the United Nations. The
group’s main objective was to produce films and
television shows targeted primarily at the young.
“If you can reach the young, you can reach the
people who will be making the decisions about the
environment in the years ahead,” Blake said. He
planned to spend five years in the world’s most
important and fragile aquatic environments, filming and
absorbing.
Christopher Clarey, International Herald
Tribune
December 12, 2001
Copyright 2001 International Herald Tribune
Source: http://www.blakexpeditions.com/
.
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