Teams Are Like Gearboxes
There are many ways to describe a group of people and the dynamics that are involved within them. Recently, I've Bren thinking about how teams are like gearboxes. Gearboxes have many gears are they are all needed at different times during a journey. Merge specifically this example can be used when thing about projects.
I was taught in Monash about many different dynamics of teams but no one ever thought about how each individual is best used during the course of a project. Gearboxes, while they might he grown substantially the last generation or so, still have three main types of gears; lows, mediums and highs.
Low gears are meant to get you started, they get you off the line with as much force as possible. Their job is to haul-a** and they do it well. In teams you will have people that have a million-and-one ideas and so much enthusiasm you'd get tired watching them just talk. You need them because these guys get things going, they spark up the entire project. However, most of their ideas are half-baked and they loose enthusiasm too easily.
Mid-ranger gears come in here. They are good and picking up the slack and have to quickly take over from the first gear. First gears go crazy at anything above 30km/h. In teams you need analyzers that can refine these ideas that are thrown about. They gather all the little bits into something realistic and practical. However, their functionality is limited to thought. You will finally need long range gears to get you far.
Long rangers can't spark or you'd really stall the engine (literally and figuratively). They take over once the planning gets done. They are very good at keeping the fire going. They might not necessarily enthusiastic and jumpy like first gears but boy can they make sure you can go the distance. Watch out closely for them because many times they are overlooked or dismissed too early in the game, preventing you from seeing their potential from the lack of initial performance.
Yes, yes... There are also reverse gears. People who bring you back in case you've overshot things. They are your support and you cannot do without them although they are rarely used. Rare to find a good reverse gear nowadays. Older people (conselors) normally make good reverse gears...hahaha. They are very wise, indeed.
