Teamwork

We could not talk about toy story and the leaders without touching on the other important characters of the movie, such as Barbie, Slinky, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Hamm and Rex, to name but a few.  They all have various strengths, abilities and characteristics, that contribute different skills which when mashed together brings a spirit of unity and co-operation.  Crainer (1998) identifies that individual team members will contribute different skills but that for teams to be successful they also need to behave in particular ways.  Crainer (1998) believes within a team there should be ‘doers’ (Woody) who concentrate on the task at hand. ‘Knowers’ who have specialist knowledge (Chatter Telephone). ‘Solvers’ (Aliens) who solve problems as they arise. ‘Checkers’ (Buzz) to ensure the task is going as well as it could be and ‘carers’ (Mrs Potato Head) who can monitor that the team is working as a cohesive social unit.

The task that was most relevant to focus attention on for the purpose of this Blog is when the toys realise they need to escape Sunnyside Daycare and the evil force of Lotso the pink strawberry smelling bear. 

The best way to describe how the toys performed this task was using an all channel network as described by Bavelas and Leavitt (1951).  This type of communication network is believed to be more successful when, as in this case, the toys were completing a complex task that required full discussion and participation from team members. 

At the time when the toys came to realise they needed to escape Sunnyside Daycare and avoid further imprisonment from Lotso, Woody and Jessie’s innovative leadership skills provided Andy’s toys opportunities for independence.This was done by identifying their individual strengths and how these could be used to ensure they escaped without relying solely on the leaders who were also busy focussing on their own individual task.  This meant that no one member was saturated by the progress being made but that the progress of the task flowed all around the network and as a result made the team far superior in combating Lotso’s evil force.   Because the team of toys completed the task successfully using this network of communication they were all able to reap the benefits and gained satisfaction, because of their individual achievements which complemented one another’s efforts. 

Furthermore, Tuckman (1965) discusses 5 stages that he believes teams pass through before they can successfully achieve a positive team building experience, Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning.  All five of these stages are brilliantly demonstrated within this film.  Despite the toys having known one another since Andy was 8 years old, (he is now 17) they continue throughout Toy Story 3 to re-establish their roles to overcome new and unexpected challenges. 

When the toys fear being put in the attic or being thrown away with the trash they begin at the start by ‘Forming’ described by Tuckman (1965) as the first stage.  They become dependent on Woody to lead them and offer them reassurance, but the other toys are so devastated and panicked into believing they are going to be thrown away they challenge Woody’s motives and objectives.

This continues into Tuckman’s (1965) second stage of ‘storming’ when the characters survive the dustbin cart and are now even more frantic about their future.  The toys struggle to make any assured decisions harmoniously and their fight for clarity and purpose increases.  They have heard about Sunnyside Daycare and think this is the key to being played with by children, but Woody argues they are betraying Andy.  This demonstrates power struggles amongst the group,  with Jessie, Woody and Buzz fighting for leadership. The toys eventually feel comforted and persuaded by Jessie’s vision, imagining what it would be like having new owners as well as being played with and this keeps them focused and prevents them from being distracted by Woody. 

It is not until the toys have experienced the hands of the children in the Butterfly room and Mrs Potato Head's eye reveals Andy is looking for them, that they enter into the ‘Norming’ Stage.  When Woody finally returns to save them from Lotso, they all reach agreement and once again a consensus begins to develop.  Woody’s role is reinstated and the team of toys begin to re-establish their roles within the group.  Tasks to help them fight Lotso and his crew are delegated and the toys revert back to being a committed and strong team of toys.  During the final stage the heat is on to escape Sunnyside Daycare to get back to Andy safely with no hitches and they ease into the ‘performing’ stage.  Everyone is focussed on the plan, everyone participates, Barbie tortures Ken, Mr Potato Head becomes a flat bread, and there are beautiful scenes of autonomy as they battle to the end. 

Although the toys don’t split up, they certainly experience the ‘Adjourning’ stage (Tuckman 1970) at the end when they find themselves in the hands of Bonnie.  Despite feeling sad about waving goodbye to Andy as he drives off to college, they can certainly feel good about what they have achieved and the new adventures they are about to experience in the hands of Bonnie.