Building a Short Term Team

Team- “A group of people working together to achieve a common goal”

We talk a lot about teamwork and leadership here but I often get asked why, when diving isn’t a team sport. While it’s not a traditional team sport, aside from solo divers (and even then they are often part of a team, more on that later) we normally dive with at least one if not multiple other people. So, by definition, we are a team. The common, often unspoken, goal of every dive is to survive in the hostile environment that is underwater. We may have secondary goals such as photography, exploring or mapping but primarily, we want to be able to exit the water safely.

So how do we develop a team, especially in the short space of time we have on a dive? Several factors come into play. Number one, are we going to be diving with the same people for more than one dive? If we are, then it makes it much easier to start to build ourselves as a team. Doing just one dive with someone barely gives us the chance to get to know them, and is why it can be tricky getting paired up with someone at the last minute. We can still make sure we’re at least communicating effectively by doing a briefing. It doesn’t have to be one of the buddy pair conducting the briefing, it can be a divemaster or instructor, so long as we have a common method of communicating that we both understand. And yes, everyone should know the basic signals, but as far as I know no one has ever died from being reminded of them. Basic procedures should also be agreed beforehand; what is your turn pressure, when should you begin the ascent to surface/safety stop, and what’s the route you plan on taking? Finally, what are the goals of the dive? We’ve already mentioned “surviving”, but normally there are others from just looking around, to taking photos, mapping, study or exploration. Realistically, if you’re just doing one dive together then this is probably the most you can do to build your buddy team. A debrief after the dive will help you as individuals learn any lessons and this doesn’t have to be a long, formal debrief. The simple questions “What went well and why?” and “What can I/we improve and how?” (to either both you and your buddy or just yourself if your buddy isn’t receptive) will give you a framework of things to think about.

The fun really comes if you’re going to be diving together for longer. Pairing up with a stranger on a liveaboard for a week? Congratulations, let the team building commence. Joining a course? Same thing. “Team building” has picked up negative implications recently, mostly thanks to people being chucked into difficult or unpleasant environments with “coaches” who hadn’t been well trained. The reality is that unless you live and work alone, and aren’t involved in any other activities, we are all building teams all the time. These teams are normally fluid, changing often. New people join your company or leave. Even the most established teams have to adapt to the people within, everyday everyone has different moods, energy levels and ability to deal with stressors. When it comes to a short term team building (which is the most common form in recreational diving), we have to be aware that we are unlikely to build a highly effective team, we simply don’t have the time to get to know each other's quirks. Similar to the one dive scenario though, the priority should be on communication. This is where 99% of problems can be solved. If we can at least communicate, then if something isn’t happening as we expect, we can find out why and start to understand the other person's mental model. Again, a solid brief and debrief will help with this.

A huge part of teamwork is trust (another reason why teamwork picked up the unfavourable undertone; trust exercises forced on people who either don’t trust each other to begin with or haven’t had a chance to even begin building trust). Trust starts by showing that you are competent. This means your dive skills will be judged by your new team mates. You need to show that you are honest. Are you able to follow instructions given to you? If you’ve been briefed that the max depth of a dive is 30m, do you go bombing off down to 40m? Finally you need to show that you are a “team player”. Selfish people rarely make good teammates. Acts as simple as offering help or allowing others to jump before you help demonstrate that you can be considerate and therefore a more valuable member.

The final part of building a short term team is making sure everyone knows their purpose, aka role clarity. What’s your job on the team? If you’re on a liveaboard for a week, it’s likely that you’re there to have fun and see new places. That’s your role! You also will have other (again, often unspoken) roles. Helping to make sure your buddy is ready to get in the water? Your job; otherwise known as a buddy check. Being familiar with their equipment in case of emergency. Again; your job. Knowing the emergency procedures? Yep, same again. These may seem obvious but if we are actually conscious of these roles and the reason why we have them, we’re far more likely to do what is needed to have a safe dive. Who hasn’t jumped in without their weights before? Or had to wait while our buddy sheepishly climbed the ladder to get theirs? This takes far more time and effort than a quick buddy check and yet there are still people who mock them as a waste of time.

All of these things apply for teams who will be together for longer too, however be aware that when building a team for a specific purpose (such as a dive centre, research team or to document a wreck) we are normally far more able to choose the members. In the examples I’ve given above they are all teams that are thrown together by circumstances, whether that’s a liveaboard, a course or just a day's diving.

Summary

Almost all of us dive in teams, most of the time. Communication is key; we need to be able to understand what the other person is saying. Trust is essential and is built up of competency, honesty and consideration for others. Finally we need role clarity. Not just knowing WHAT your role is, but also WHY you need to do all the things associated with that role.

For more information check out the Dummies series about teamwork and communication here:

https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/HFiD-for-dummies-teamwork

https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/HFiD-for-dummies-comms

This series is about how to build psychological safety in teams and why it's needed:

https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/team-building-psych-safety-1

https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/team-building-psych-safety-2

https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/team-building-psych-safety-3

https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/team-building-psych-safety-4

Jenny is a full-time technical diving instructor and safety diver. Prior to diving, she worked in outdoor education for 10 years teaching rock climbing, white water kayaking and canoeing, sailing, skiing, caving and cycling, among other sports. Her interest in team development started with outdoor education, using it as a tool to help people learn more about communication, planning and teamwork.

Since 2009 she has lived in Dahab, Egypt teaching SCUBA diving. She is now a technical instructor trainer for TDI, advanced trimix instructor, advanced mixed gas CCR diver and helitrox CCR instructor.

Jenny has supported a number of deep dives as part of H2O divers dive team and works as a safety diver in the media industry.

If you'd like to deepen your diving experience, consider taking the online introduction course which will change your attitude towards diving because safety is your perception, visit the website.