Malcolm & Marie, the new film by director Sam Levinson available on the Netflix platform, made me think about relationships of trust. In fact, the theme of FICTION is the wear and tear and lack of mystery in a relationship and the devaluation of the partner that drains trust and the will to stay together, but what inspired me was the relationship of complicity that happened in REAL LIFE. Written and produced for the streaming format during the pandemic by a very small team, the film is the result of a high-performance team, where there were no barriers between individuals' activities and everyone was connected by a common goal, a delivery visualized from the start.
Behind every high-performance team is a story of commitment. According to Katzenbach & Smith, in their book 'The Wisdow of Teams', this team should be made up of a limited number of people with shared purposes and objectives, technical knowledge and defined responsibilities. Each member must contribute and genuinely care about the others, in a relationship that goes beyond the professional. And just as important as the above points, a sense of good humor and fun must permeate the group. Let's understand why Malcolm&Marie managed to bring all these points together.
PURPOSE. To make a low-budget movie during a pandemic. For this, a single location was selected, the Caterpillar house, far from urban centers on the isolated beach of Carmel, where the team could stay and 'create a bubble'. Only two actors on stage, with no major production challenges, was also part of the choices aligned with the purpose.
By having a clear raison d'être and also by sharing the vision of how the project would be implemented, the team felt free to focus on results and appropriate solutions and deliver what started out as a conversation between two people.
SHARED GOAL. The film emerged from conversations between director Levinson and actress Zendaya, shortly after working on the award-winning series Euphoria. Levinson would write 10-15 pages of a story and together they would read and talk for hours about the next part, making the experience collaborative. The same happened during production, allowing for dialog between team members.
Information flows naturally between high-performance teams, which generates trust between people and improves performance. Dialogue and active listening are always present and conflicts are perceived as opportunities for improvement, but for this to happen, you need to pay attention to the ideal number of people in the team.
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE. Chosen from the production team of the Euphoria series, a very small team of just over 20 people was enough to shoot and finish the feature. The synergy and trust between the people established previously were rescued for the new project.
The search for the best professionals is relevant, but focusing only on individual talents is a common mistake when establishing a team. The leader needs to define and hire the soft skills that will ensure synergy in the group and, at the same time, guarantee autonomy in the tasks.
DEFINED RESPONSIBILITIES. During production, the technical team was given autonomy to lead their areas of expertise. The black-and-white photography was a suggestion from Marcell Rév, a way of paying homage to black actors, since during the golden age of B&W films, blacks were not cast in the lead roles. The soundtrack often invades the dialog and makes up the tone of voice of the characters, and the setting itself was a suggestion from the producers. It wasn't about doing your job, but about thinking about the end result.
In high-performance teams, this happens naturally and leadership is shared according to the need or problem to be solved. Of course, there is always a formal leader, but their role is to mentor the team and ensure the necessary autonomy and alignment.
CONCERN FOR THE WHOLE. In several interviews, Zendaya highlighted the care taken by the people and the feeling that 'if one fell, all would fall'. Everyone was together and believed in this project, so much so that a large part of the team agreed to become partners in the production, with their income linked to its commercial success.
Recognizing a team member's skills can modify their behavior, bringing about a clear improvement in performance and engagement, a positive cycle that pervades high-performance teams. In addition, accepting help and feedback is also common.
High-performance teams don't just happen, they have to be cultivated over time and maintain an environment where everyone feels safe to share and implement ideas, where continuous improvement is valued. The result obtained by a low-budget movie comes as no surprise when we find out more about the people and the autonomy involved.
