Brief summary

The book *Team Getting Things Done with Others* shows how teams can collaborate productively by applying the principles of Getting Things Done (GTD) to groups. It describes how clear structures, shared responsibility, and conscious planning lead to trust, effectiveness, and sustainable performance. The focus is on the connection between personal organization, team clarity, and modern leadership culture.

General ideas

• Organizations only survive if they can react quickly to changes.

• Problems should be solved at their systemic root cause. Teams must be structured in such a way that people can perform at their best.

• Health and performance should be in balance.

• More responsibility does not automatically mean more work.

• Artificial intelligence can only replace those who have not learned to think and decide better.

• Excellence arises from the quality of the work, not the quantity.

Contents

1. When teamwork doesn't work

An excess of tasks and communication channels leads to overload. Constant overwork becomes the norm. Teams often fall apart before they can work together effectively. This chapter identifies common mistakes in teamwork and describes how to improve it.

MING Model: This model describes the development phases of teams: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing . This process is often interrupted before teams reach their full potential.

Characteristics of a good team:

• Clear shared goals and priorities; Defined roles

• Quick response to inquiries

• Results focus instead of hourly focus

• Asynchronous work for flexibility

• Ability to decline requests to protect priorities

• Reliable commitments and timely communication; common language and standards

Characteristics of good meetings:

• Short and to the point

• Goals and results are defined in advance.

• Participants are prepared

• In the end, clear decisions and actions are recorded.

Problems of modern companies:

• Too many decision-making levels

• Departmental thinking coupled with a lack of communication

• Rigid planning cycles

Modern methods aim for clear structures and organization. These include:

• Lean Management:

  Aims at eliminating waste and improving processes. Recognizing customer value, making processes transparent, and continuously improving them. Respect for people is central, and autonomy is encouraged.

  Six Sigma: A variant of Lean that reduces statistical deviations and improves quality.

  
  

• Holacracy: A system that emphasizes roles and responsibilities rather than hierarchies. People work in overlapping holons that are results-oriented.

  
  

• Agile: Scrum as a framework for iterative work. Short cycles, prioritization, feedback, and adaptation promote continuous improvement.

These models originate from manufacturing, while knowledge work is difficult to plan and highly individualized. Productivity here arises from focus, clear goals, planning, good communication, and the ability to manage change.

Principles of successful teams:

• Clarity : Shared understanding of goals, processes, and standards

• Trust : Commitment, being able to rely on one another.

• Open communication : Transparency on all performance-related topics

• Learning : Reflection and critical review of habits

• Diversity : Different backgrounds and perspectives foster innovation.

  
  

Key skills for individuals and teams:

• Individual: Presenting, listening, giving constructive feedback

• Teams: Structure, processes, prioritization, clear roles

2. Elements of productive collaboration

The structure of successful teams follows the three GTD pillars: control, focus, planning.

Control:

Trust is built through the proper handling of commitments. Agreements can either not be made, concluded, or renegotiated. Entering into an agreement and not honoring it is unacceptable.

• Capture: Each team member records open issues and maintains a personal agenda.

• Clarify: The team discusses exactly what needs to be done, who is responsible, and by when. Large projects (P) are handled by the team, small ones (p) individually.

• Organize: A master calendar consolidates important dates and deadlines. A team reference system collects relevant information.

• Reflect: Annual reviews help assess progress and plan improvements. Weekly reviews keep projects up to date.

• Engage: Teams prioritize together. Decisions are based on intuition and well-maintained lists.

Focus:

• Purpose and Principles:

  Every team member should clearly understand why the team exists, how it collaborates, its direction, the milestones it aims to achieve, and each person's role in that process. The purpose of the team and the organization should be regularly reviewed and reinforced.

  Standards define what collaboration looks like and what is expected of one another. This includes rules for meetings, response times, and priorities. A supportive work environment arises when good behavior is encouraged rather than discipline enforced. Leaders act as role models and embody the values they expect. Standards can be established by asking what would be disruptive or motivating if consistently implemented. These standards should be communicated openly and with clear justifications. Every decision is documented, including its rationale.

• Vision:

  A shared vision describes what the team considers a major success in three to five years. It creates a clear picture of what the future should look like. A vision is developed by defining an overarching goal and supplementing it with several more specific sub-goals. The focus is on what is to be achieved, not on the path to get there.

• Goals:

  Goals make progress measurable and concrete. They should be linked to the vision and formulated according to SMART or OKR principles. The team is actively involved in goal development to strengthen personal responsibility and commitment. Many ideas are collected and then narrowed down to the most effective ones.

• Areas of Focus:

  The focus is on the most strategically important areas of responsibility. These areas must be maintained at a clearly defined standard on an ongoing basis. Roles are documented and accompanied by checklists to ensure accountability and quality. One example is the role of "Sales," which is linked to a measurable goal such as the number of contracts closed.

• Projects:

  Projects are described in the section on organization and serve the concrete implementation of the agreed goals.

• Next Actions:

  Each team member is responsible for their own next steps and ensures that these are clearly defined, organized and implemented.

Planning:

• Planning tools:

  • Listen

  • Mind maps

  • Schedules

  • Workstreams

  • tables

  • Scenarios

  • Gantt charts.

  A team should never operate at full capacity. When a new responsibility is taken on, a decision must be made as to what will be neglected in return.

  
  

• Natural Planning Model: The Natural Planning Model describes how teams plan projects.

  It follows these steps:

  • Define purpose and share; set standards

  • Visualize success | Gather ideas

  • Define key milestones

  • Assign next actions and responsible parties

3. Team leadership

A manager should focus on making the team successful. Leadership means understanding how the individual parts of a system interact. Besides a clear vision, a functioning structure is also needed to master daily challenges. People should be empowered to make independent decisions whenever possible.

Leaders set standards for themselves first and lead by example. The team should define its own standards and remind each other to adhere to them. Agreements are documented and their implementation monitored. A town hall list helps communicate important information to everyone. A dashboard provides an overview of the current status of team activities.

Each team member maintains a personal "waiting-for" list to coordinate open issues with others. Leaders reserve short time slots daily so that questions or concerns can be addressed directly. The focus is on what matters most: doing only what is truly important. A culture of consciously saying no prevents burnout. Commitments should only be made if they can realistically be fulfilled. Otherwise, renegotiation is preferable to vague promises.

Delegation:

Delegation means focusing on what you can do yourself and handing everything else over. Tasks should be passed on, even if others don't perform them perfectly at first. After a promotion, old responsibilities should not be resumed. Delegation offers others an opportunity to grow through experience and guidance.

It is advisable to delegate entire projects or areas of responsibility rather than just small tasks. Activities that do not require exclusive access or special authority should be delegated. This frees up resources to focus on overarching themes: vision, culture, strategy, and external relationships.

How to delegate:

Delegation succeeds on the basis of 4 steps:

• Prepare: At the beginning, the desired result is defined, as well as the timeframe and the available resources.

• Negotiate: Delegation is a dialogue. Expectations are discussed, and both sides agree on clear "conditions of satisfaction." The delegate should have the opportunity to ask questions, suggest alternatives, or postpone commitment. Milestones, deadlines, and communication channels are jointly defined.

• Deliver/Complete: The person carrying out the task works independently, provides regular updates on progress, and points out problems or changes early on.

• Satisfaction: Upon completion, the result is reviewed, adjusted if necessary, and the achievement is acknowledged. "Lazy delegation" is avoided by clearly defining deadlines and success criteria. The number of participants remains limited to simplify voting. Continuous feedback, clear communication, and reliability foster trust and accountability.

Examples of standards in teams

A key element of successful team leadership is establishing the right standards for the team. Here are some examples suggested by David Allen:

Generally:

Everyone should schedule dedicated time each day for planning and organization and consistently protect it. This time serves to clarify, prioritize, and focus.

E-mail:

Emails addressed directly to a person are answered within 48 hours. The subject line always clearly describes the topic. If the content of an email conversation changes, the subject line is updated instead of simply clicking "Reply" or "Reply All." Only those who need to take action are listed in the "To" field, while "Cc" is used for those who simply want to be informed. All incoming emails are checked and resolved at least every 48 hours.

Meetings:

Meeting invitations should include the desired objective. An agenda and a waiting list should be prepared in advance. Meeting start and end times should be adhered to, and sufficient transition time should be allowed between sessions. Standard meeting durations are 50 minutes instead of 60, or 25 minutes instead of 30. All agreements should be documented – both the "what" and the "why."

During meetings, the focus remains on the agreed topic. Devices are switched off to allow for full attention. A visual overview of what has already been accomplished should be available.

Reasons for meetings:

Meetings may only be held for the following reasons. The reason for the meeting should be clarified beforehand.

• Share information

• Gathering information

• Develop options

• make decisions

• Building relationships

  
  

Communication channels:

• Email is used when team software is not possible, for example, for external contacts. Replies are sent the next business day. Email is not used for internal communication. A brief reply such as "I'll get back to you" is often sufficient. No messages are sent outside of working hours.

• Team Collaboration Software: This facilitates better internal information distribution. Responses are also provided on the next business day. Messages are posted in the correct channel and thread. Only relevant individuals are notified. If it's unclear where a message belongs, a new thread with a clear title is created.

• SMS: Suitable for short messages. A reply should be given within four hours.

• Telephone: Used for urgent inquiries or immediate clarifications. No one needs to be constantly available. If a call is missed, a follow-up call should be made if necessary, especially if a text message indicates urgency. If a call is made and no one answers, a brief message should explain the reason.