“Many hands make light work.”
John Heywood (English playwright and poet)
While Heywood was correct, he probably didn’t have to supervise those many hands. There is much emphasis on teamwork in leadership development these days. Unfortunately, there are many leaders who don’t manage teams very well, resulting in teams that are less effective than they could be. There are several steps to team building that are essential to the success of the team. Note that these steps involve the leader more than the team. I’ll discuss why at the end.
- Understand that the team is made up of individuals. Each one has different experiences and motivations. Some team members will have hesitancy about being on the team, while others will have their own ulterior motives. No matter how carefully members are selected, this is to be expected. Firm guidance from the leader will help deal with individual issues and prevent them from damaging the team’s efforts. The next steps go a long way towards mitigating individual issues as well.
- Make sure the team has a clear mission and goals. This is the responsibility of the leader who forms, or charters the team and it should not be left up to the team. But, the leader must allow the team to decide how they will accomplish the mission and goals. This is critical! A team is an organization and so, needs to clearly understand why they exist and what they are supposed to do. When members understand how they will contribute to mission and goal success, and leaders stick to those missions and goals, the team will be cohesive.
- Deal with problems early. There is always a potential for problems because team members are human. It’s best for the team leader to speak privately with the individual and discuss the problem. Most common are personality conflicts which boil over and affect the group. Human nature tends toward teamwork and most often, the conflicts can be suppressed by reminding the affected members how they contribute to the team and that the conflict is affecting the entire team. Of course this doesn’t always work and there will occasionally come a time when the leader must decide how much the problem is damaging the team. It may be necessary to replace the problem team member. If that’s the case, be very clear about the action you are taking and why.
- Delegate, but follow-up. Leaders must know each individual’s strengths and talents, then let them do their job with minimal interference. They must ensure each member clearly understands their responsibility to the team’s mission and goals and monitor their progress. While follow-up is important for the team leader, it’s also vital for the leader who chartered the team. It’s very easy for a team to start heading in the wrong direction, and effective follow-up will catch problems early when they can be more easily remedied. Be careful though! Follow-up means staying in touch with what the team is doing not meddling in their efforts.
These four steps are the basis for leading teams. As I mentioned, these steps are for the team leader because, though the members get the job done, it’s the team leader’s responsibility to make the group into a team.
Bob Mason is dedicated to leadership development. He works with companies to solve problems by helping supervisors and managers become more effective leaders leading more productive teams. He is a professional speaker and author of Don’t Worry, You Can Do This: What New Supervisors and Managers Need to Know About Leadership; The Art of Not Motivating: How Leaders Can Succeed by Understanding the True Nature of Motivation; Balancing the Generations: A Leader’s Guide to the Complex, Multi-Generational, 21st Century Workplace; and Planning to Excel: Strategic Planning That Works.
A 30-year career in the U.S. Air Force exposed him to great leaders and leadership opportunities such as command of four squadrons, including the Air Force’s largest munitions squadron. He has studied leadership extensively, but more importantly has been there, working with real people, making hard decisions, and experiencing the results.
Contact Bob at Bob@BobMasonSpeaker.com or 505-453-5266
