the seven samurai_a high impact team

The Seven SamuraiHigh Impact Team

The Seven Samurai and Attributes of a High Impact Team

Attributes from the Discipline of Teams (HBR) Common commitment

Although the reasons why samurai initially agreed to help the villagers were different, they all were committed to helping the villagers and it was not for three meagre meals.


Attributes from the Discipline of Teams (HBR) Common commitment

▪ E.g. Kastsushiro joined because he wanted to learn from Kambei

▪ Gorobei thought Kambei would make a lifetime friend▪ Shichirōji joined because he was old friend of Kambei▪ Heihachi joined because he was tired of splitting logs▪ Kyuzo joined for he wanted to sharpen his skills▪ Kikichiyo joined because he thought it would provide

him with a purpose in life.


Right Size and mix of skills A design to the number of members

existed four for defending from each direction, two for reserve, and one leader.

The team had a varied skill set and its members were all very different individuals.

A triangle (farmer) amongst the circles (samurai) helps the team understand the farmers’ (their employers) perspective better.


Right Size and mix of skills1. Kambei Shimada

Visionary, problem solver, mature, identifies talent, clarifies goals, dynamic, thrives under pressure, strategic and discerning, sees all options and judges accurately

Belbin team roles: ▪ Plant▪ Coordinator▪ Shaper▪ Monitor Evaluator


Right Size and mix of skills2. Katsushirō Okamoto

Enthusiastic, communicative, co-operative Belbin team roles: ▪ Resource Investigator▪ Teamworker


Right Size and mix of skills3. Gorōbei Katayama

Practical, efficient, turned ideas into actions, organized tasks well, identifies talent, clarifies goals, sober, strategic

Belbin team roles: ▪ Implementer (asked all the questions related to

implementation in his strategy discussions with Kambei)▪ Coordinator▪ Monitor Evaluator


Right Size and mix of skills4. Shichirōji

Reliable, organized work, confident, motivated his people to get the work done in adversity, delegated

Belbin team roles: ▪ Implementer▪ Coordinator


Right Size and mix of skills5. Heihachi Hayashida

Listened well, smoothened out conflicts, co-operated with everyone, communicative, outgoing, developed contacts

Belbin team roles: ▪ Teamworker▪ Resource Investigator


Right Size and mix of skills6. Kyūzō

Dedicated, self-starter, single-minded, provided knowledge and skills to others, conscientious, searches and eliminates errors, reliable, efficient

Belbin team roles: ▪ Specialist▪ Completer Finisher▪ Implemeter


Right Size and mix of skills7. Kikuchiyo

Creative, imaginative, free-thinking, enthusiastic, explored opportunities, dedicated, self-starter, provided knowledge and skills to the villagers

Belbin team roles: ▪ Plant▪ Resource investigator▪ Specialist


Common approach and accountability Kambei always took the decisions about

the next course of action with everyone in the team.

He asked for volunteers and not nominated people for missions; exception was him vetoing Katsushiro to go to raid bandit’s camp for his inexperience

The Leader - Kambei Shimada

A level 5 leader Humility of a monk▪ “You embarrass me. You're overestimating

me. Listen, I am not a man with any special skills. But I have a plenty of experience of battles. Losing battles, all of them.” to Kastsushiro▪ “We are again defeated. The farmers have

won. We have lost. ”


A level 5 leader Humility of a monk▪ Does not respond to rudeness/ near craziness

of Kikuchiyo; on the flipside this can also be construed as his contempt for the poser Kikuchiyo.▪ Respects “they are offering you the best they

have” and agreed to help the villagers.▪ Quick to apologize after “stick test” while

recruiting.


A level 5 leader Fierce will – wanting to protect the

villagers▪ In the Sengoku period Japan shaves his head

like a monk – a very unorthodox and shocking thing to do for a samurai – to save a little boy


A level 5 leader Fierce will – wanting to protect the villagers▪ “One guard for each direction takes four. Two

more as a reserve. You'll need at least... seven, including me. ” to the villagers; he knows the difficulty but is sure of how it can be overcome

▪ “A good fort needs a gap. The enemy must be lured in. So we can attack them. If we only defend, we lose the war. ” to Gorobei on being asked why not build the fence in the north where the final battle was to be fought.

Kambei Shimada’s role in putting together team:

The forming Had absolute clarity of task in mind –

even the fact that absolute clarity is not possible

Quickly understands he wouldn’t get the best of Samurai

Targets and gets the right set of people.


The forming However, does not accept any one till he or

someone in the team hasn’t witnessed competence e.g. ▪ Katsushiro’s stepping up to fight the bums for his

honor▪ Stick test for Gorobei▪ Kyuzo’s dual▪ Despite of having fought a war with Shichiroji Kambei

asks him “how did you escape” and “were you scared” to be certain of him

▪ Kikuchiyo was accepted only when he breaks the ice with the villagers by raising the false “bandit alarm”


The Storming He allowed views contrary to his own to be

aired and was open to accommodate the right ones. ▪ E.g. He acknowledged some rather uncomfortable

remarks made by Kikuchiyo about Samurai while explaining why farmers hunt Samurai on the run by saying “You were the son of a farmer, weren't you?” This changed the mood of the team from “let’s kill all the farmers in the village” to “nothing has happened” on being asked by Gisaku (village grandfather) “what happened sir”.


The Norming The best example of him setting the norms

was when he did not allow some villagers to leave the drill and forced them with a sword to return. He clearly articulated the norm for everyone’s benefit:▪ “We cannot endanger 30 for 3.”▪ “Remember that’s war!” You are all in one boat.

He who thinks only about himself will destroy himself too. Such selfishness will not be tolerated.”


The Performing At the time of performance, he led his

team from the front. At the same time he allowed others to take independent charge of various posts. He led the strategy and allowed posts to come up with localized tactics. ▪ E.g. Shichiroji, Kikuchiyo, Gorobei, and Kyuzu

led their posts independently but in line with the central command led by Kambei

Teamwork on a Fly – The Seven Samurai and the Villagers

Seven samurai and the villagers were not a stable team but was an act of “teaming” (as Amy C. Edmondson says in her HBR article Teamwork on the fly ) where very different people came together in a group to accomplish a great feat by tackling unexpected problems and identifying emerging opportunities.


This team comprised of two very different groups of people. To complicate things further, the group of samurai also consisted of very different individuals. The way Kambei Shimada got these individuals together can be roughly mapped to hardware and software of teaming as mentioned in the HBR article Teamwork on the fly.


The Behaviors of successful Teaming Speaking Up

This was a team that asked questions, acknowledged errors, raised issues, and explained ideas

▪ “GOROBEI : According to what the bandit said, their fortress must be...

KYUZO: Must be very easy to take.KIKUCHIYO: Must be as full of holes as Yohei’s trousers.GOROBEI: If it is that easy...KIKUCHIYO: I’d attack by night, I would.

HEIHACHI: There are forty of them. But we could march right in and fight.

KAMBEI: Wait. If we lose one man we’ve lost...even if we kill five for that one.

(cont…)


The Behaviors of successful Teaming Speaking Up (5/5)

▪ (cont…) GOROBEI: That is true of any battle.KYUZO: If three of us go we can kill ten of them easily.KAMBEI: Rikichi. How far is it there? RIKICHI: A Good day’s walk.KIKUCHIYO: But we have horses now. That we took from Banndits.RIKICHI: On horseback it would take about half a day.

Kambei: I see. It’s decided, then. If we leave now and ride all

night long, we’ll get there at dawn. Now, who will go?”


The Behaviors of successful Teaming Experimenting (5/5)

Took an iterative approach to action that recognized the novelty and uncertainty inherent in interactions between individuals and in the possibilities and plans they develop▪ The discussion between Gorobei, Kikushiyo, Hiehachi,

Kambei, Kyuzo, and Rikichi just before the attack on bandits’ camp

▪ Kambei and Gorobei’s talk about leaving northern side unfenced

▪ Kambei, Katsushiro, and Kyuzu’s talk about going and getting the gun


The Behaviors of successful Teaming Reflecting (2/5)

They Observed, questioned, and discussed processes and outcomes to a limited extent

After the bandit scouts were killed▪ After the first battle – in the night▪ “They attacked from the three directions and were beaten

back. Next it will be here.”

▪ After the second battle just before the decisive battle▪ “13 left, but last seven were costly”


The Behaviors of successful Teaming Listening Intently

Some members worked hard to understand the knowledge, expertise, ideas, and opinions of others▪ Kambei▪ Gorobei


The Behaviors of successful Teaming Integrating

Synthesized different facts and points of view to create new possibilities▪ The discussion around farmers hunting Samurai▪ The discussion around attacking bandit camp▪ The discussion after the first battle▪ The discussion after the second battle


The Hardware Scoping

Even before he accepted the request made by the villagers - Manzo, Rikichi, and Yohei – he had already started scoping out the challenge, determining what expertise is required, and outlining the roles and responsibilities. ▪ “This would not be a game. A band of forty bandits! Two or

three "samurai" could accomplish nothing. Defense is harder than offense. Mountains in the back of the village? (Yes) Can horses get over them? (Yes) Fields in front. The village is wide open to horsemen... until the fields are flooded. One guard for each direction takes four. Two more as a reserve. You'll need at least... seven, including me.”


The Hardware Structuring

The core team of the seven samurai formed the axis for this teaming effort. Kambei empowered each of the samurais to be leader of a unit that they trained and led to protect one of the village posts.

The regular meetings in the village that Kambei organized also offered figurative scaffolding for the future teaming. During these meetings information was exchanged and both the distinct groups came to know of each other better.


The Hardware Sorting

No direct evidence of Kambei sorting out the tasks with the types of interdependencies involved – pooled, sequential, or reciprocal


The Software Emphasizing Purpose

He does not do this enough but he clearly emphasized purpose when he says:▪ “This is the nature of war. By protecting

others, you save yourselves.”


The Software Building Psychological Safety

He created an environment where people could speak up, disagree, and do not feel belittled.

He always asked for volunteers for missions e.g. attack on bandit camp, killing of scouts

When Kastsushiro pants and puffs after killing just one bandit, Kambei encourages him by saying “What’s the matter. You did good.”


The Software Embracing Failure

When Kikuchiyo’s mistake of leaving his post unattended indirectly cost Gorobei’s life he isolated himself. Kambei went to him with some sake and told him “Here’s some sake. Drink and relax. This is so unlike you. Be bold and relax.” This got Kikuchiyo back in his spirits which helped them win the final battle.


The Software Putting conflict to work

Kambei always encouraged asking questions, acknowledging errors, raising issues, and explaining ideas. ▪ E.g. Kikuchiyo’s argument explaining farmers

hunting samurai on run

Flipside

Heihachi’s death Flipside of teaming

Gorobei’s death Self v/s the team

Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo’s death Use of resources

the seven samurai_a high impact team

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