InteresTED: Super Chickens and Characteristics of Highly Effective Teams

In the 2015 TED Talk, Forget the Pecking Order at Work, Margaret Heffernan argues that competition is not the way to create organizational success. Heffernan begins with the story of William Muir and his experiments with “super chickens” to engage the audience around the themes of competition and productivity. She states that organizations are often run according to “the super chicken model,” where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others.

And yet, this isn’t what drives the most high-achieving teams. Rather, social connections and people’s interactions with one another are the keys to success. Heffernan goes on to discuss social capital and the importance of valuing everyone in order to solve our most “wicked problems.”

She continues by presenting research and examples from various industries to illustrate that competition is not the answer to organizational wellness. It’s a radical rethink of what drives us to do our best work, and what it means to be a leader. Because as Heffernan points out: “Companies don’t have ideas. Only people do.”

Learning Objectives:

• Recite what happens when we just use Super Chickens in our work teams
• Identify the three characteristics of the successful and highly effective teams
• Explain the terms Social Capital and helpfulness