Teamwork: Impeccability

In 1955, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein ended their manifesto with a simple appeal:

“Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.”

Intelligent Worksheets is specifically oriented to education, but the philosophy it seeks to practise is applicable to education and training within any organisation concerned with the well-being of its members and of those it serves.

In a real sense, we are all part of the larger human project. Corporations, governments, NGOs, schools, clinics and small businesses can all be thought of as sub-teams within that wider field. We are of course far from functioning as a single team, but the direction matters.

This post considers the word impeccability in the context of teamwork. It is closely related to excellence.

I was once asked whether going out drinking with colleagues had anything to do with impeccability in teamwork. The concern was that getting drunk might negatively affect the image of the organisation.

It might, and it might not. It depends on the context.

The problem with the question is that it reduces impeccability to isolated behaviours.

Impeccability is not best thought of as a list of things you should or should not do. It concerns the quality of interaction and participation.

Consider a finely crafted mechanical watch.

Its outer appearance and inner workings express the same care and intention. It has been designed to be attractive, accurate and reliable.

Inside it, nothing is ornamental.
No component exists for show.
No part is more important than another.
Each piece is essential.
Each piece performs as designed.
The ornamental aspects of the exterior reflect the same care and quality of design and manufacture as the internal components.

If one element fails to perform its function, the watch cannot fulfil its purpose.

The dignity and importance of each part do not need to be declared. They are built into the design.

A team is similar. If the shared purpose is real — not lip service, not performance — then each person’s role matters as much as any other’s. Not rhetorically. Operationally.

Recently, at a conference devoted to teamwork, I had an instructive experience that gave me another perspective on impeccability.

I thought I had lost my wallet and went to the security team for help. They were not part of the training sessions I was attending, yet they were supporting the same larger educational project.

The security staff member who helped me was professional and attentive. He asked me to empty my bag to check its contents.

As I did so, I noticed there was nothing extraneous in it. Nothing chaotic. Nothing I felt embarrassed about. Everything I had brought was there for a reason.

That was not because I had been expecting anyone to look inside it. It reflected an ongoing effort to be conscious about what I carry and why.

I later discovered that I had left the wallet in my hotel room. That private lapse had entered the professional arena.

Practising care outside the visible arena strengthens reliability within it.

Impeccability is a practice. It is rehearsal.

The same principle applies to writing.

When I write, I try to ensure that each sentence has been consciously chosen and that it is needed. I am striving, however imperfectly, to ensure that nothing is included merely because it sounds good.

The aim is not to move readers unconsciously, but to present ideas clearly so that they can see what they are responding to and make a conscious choice.

Clarity is a form of respect for the reader and strengthens trust over time.

Every word should justify its presence and contribute to the same message.

When a team functions impeccably, something more than efficiency appears. There is care. There is vitality. There is shared intention.

In a beautifully made machine, you can sense the humanity of its designers and makers. In a well-functioning team, you can sense the conscious attention of its members to a single message.

Impeccability in teamwork is not about policing behaviour.

It is structural reliability sustained by individual attention and discipline, animated by shared purpose.

If we remember our humanity first, the rest begins to fall into place.