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Time For A Tiger Team?

    If you need a Tiger team — or someone else in your group needs a Tiger Team — rally, don’t dally.

    • Tiger Teams are called when a member cannot wait for the group meeting.
    • A Tiger Team can be called by the Member In Wonderment, or another member who thinks another member should be a Member In Wonderment.
    • The person who calls the Tiger Team first schedules a date, time, and place with the one other member who is most critical to be there.
    • That date, time, and place is shared with all in an open invitation. (Monica Leck can help spread the invitation.)
    • Advance description is appreciated, but not required.
    • The Member In Wonderment appoints a Chair for the Tiger Team, so the Member In Wonderment does not focus on meeting facilitation. That Chair can be appointed at the start of the meeting.

    Frequently Asked Questions
    Here are questions that other Vistage chairs have asked Artie about Tiger Teams:

    • Does Artie attend?
      No. This is exclusively member-to-member. This is partly because scheduling me into a Tiger Team would slow everything down — and partly because it is a member-to-member experience.
    • What is the ideal size of a Tiger Team?
      Minimum: Member in Wonderment, plus one other member. Maximum: everyone.
    • What do we do if there are too many volunteers for the team? 
      Get a bigger room. Otherwise, the more the merrier.
    • What if someone who volunteers is not preferred by the Tiger Team recipient?
      This question suggests a group health issue. Bring that to the next group meeting.
    • How do you inform someone that they were not selected, without making them feel less than?
      Everyone is always invited. (Avoid schoolyard politics.)
    • Do you set up a captain for the team?
      Member In Wonderment appoints a chair at the beginning of the meeting.
    • How long does a team session goes (number of hours)?
      Whatever is needed. (I’ve seen a Tiger Team last months with recurring meetings on a single topic for a single member.)
    • Other thoughts:
      Jim Alampi taught me: “The maturation of the group can be measured by the amount of time members spend together outside of the group meeting.” I would add “…and without the Chair present.”

    A Meaningful Example Of Peers Stepping Up For One Another
    I remember a Tiger Team several years ago. Here are details that can be shared:

    A member who lives a couple hours away from central Ohio needed a Tiger Team. The member wrote everyone in the group an email at 10 a.m., saying, “I need a Tiger Team. I am getting in my car and driving toward Columbus. Please, someone: tell me where to meet you.” By 11 a.m., a restaurant table was reserved. The Tiger Team happened over lunch. The member got back in the car, drove home, and took care of business.

    I have seen 50% of a group show up same-day for a Tiger Team. I have seen 90% of a group show up with more notice. But size doesn’t matter. It’s the fight in each tiger.

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