Archive for November, 2009

Many things contribute to team success and some things get in the way.  Team leadership is an important element in team success, so what are 5 common stumbling blocks when it comes to effective team leadership?

 

Stumbling block 1: The leader is closed minded

 

One of the great strengths of teams is their ability to generate a whole host of alternatives and ideas.  Used effectively these can contribute to great results and even take team performance to a higher level.  On the other hand if the team leader is closed minded and not open to new ideas then these ideas will never translate into results.

 

Stumbling block 2: Not using appropriate leadership style

 

Leadership styles can essentially be grouped into 5 main categories.  Telling, telling and selling, consultation, participation and empowerment.  The style that you adopt will depend on the situation, the expertise of those in the team and the context to name just a few.  For example, in times of urgency you might need to go for a very directive, telling style.  The key is to be able to adapt and use an appropriate leadership style when leading a team.

 

Stumbling block 3: Self interest before team results

 

Team members expect the team leader to be loyal to the team.  If the leader becomes more interested in themselves, they start making choices from a self interest rather than a team results perspective.

 

Stumbling block 4: Lack of consistency

 

We have all probably worked for people who seem to lack any sort of consistency when it comes to dealing and interacting with others.  For the team member this is a real challenge and can ultimately lead to disengagement.  As the team leader try and aim to be as consistent as you possible.

 

Stumbling block 5: Having your favourites

 

Like anyone else you will have a better connection with some people in the team than others.  At the same time you need to be alert to this connection leading to you having personal favourites which can alienate others.  Be alert to the fact that you might be showing favouritism.

 

Bottom Line – Team leadership is a vital component in team success.  So what stumbling blocks are getting in the way of your success as a team leader?

 

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to improve management skills, leadership skills and team working.  For information on services and programmes click here

As a manager you have to deal with all types of people from all walks of life with different, attitudes and motivations.  The challenge therefore is to be as aware as you can be about the people you manage so that you can interact with them appropriately and achieve the best results.

 

The people that you manage are likely to fall into one of following behavioural zones as a default.  This does not mean they are always in this zone but the default is their natural preference.

 

Analytical

 

The people who are in the analytical zone as their default will be motivated and really keen on quality.  The analytical types tend to work best when dealing with facts.

 

Drivers

 

As the name suggests the people whose default zone is driver tend to be action orientated folks.  They get their spark not by getting into action and getting things done.

 

Amiables

 

The big focus for the amiables is on relationships.  They are motivated by co-operating and working with others.

 

Expressives 

 

The expressives tend to be at the other of the scale from the analytical folks in that they are very much interested in the big picture.

 

Chances are that you will be able to recognise some people that you manage that fit really neatly into one category or another and some that flit a bit more between more than one category.  The value of understanding which zone people tend to operate in is that as a manager:

 

1. You can choose strategies for motivating that are really going to motivate.  For example, asking a driver to reflect is probably just going to leave them confused. 
2. You can adapt your management style to the person you are interacting with so that it fits and hits a chord with the other person. 
3. You get better at seeing and appreciating different perspectives or ways of looking at things. 
4. You are open to taking on board and understanding different takes on issues which helps you deliver better results.

 

Bottom Line – Success as a manager is as much about understanding others as it is what you do personally.  So what do you need to do to create more success as a manager?

 

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to become highly effective managers and leaders.  For more information about services and programme click here

In the modern day of mobile phones with facilities to access the web, send tweets, watch video and listen to audio to name just a few, it is easy to fall into the trap of expecting instant success or results.

 

Achieving leadership success on the other hand is very much a long term project.  Pick up any books that are written by or are about successful people and you will notice that far from being an instant success, it took years to get the breakthrough and then even more time to capitalise on that initial breakthrough.

 

So what does this mean for anyone who is seeking to be a successful leader?

 

Make a long term commitment

 

A lot is said about the importance of having a long term career plan.  At the same time few ever sit down and make the time to create some sort of long term plan.  It does not need to be anything over elaborate it can be as simple as a statement of intention.  For example, when I worked in accountancy, my intention was to keep testing myself at the next level partly to prove that I could do it but more importantly to get access to new challenges.

 

Invest in yourself

 

Many people talk about the pressures on training budgets right now and in many organisations the level of funding for training might be being cut significantly.  At the same time a lack of funding from the employer is sometimes a convenient excuse for not undertaking any continuing professional development or even getting that qualification you need.  Think about the longer term.  What would a few hundred or even a few thousand pounds or dollars give you in return long term over your entire career?  Start to think of personal investment in your development as an investment rather than a cost.

 

Seek out different options and then act

 

There have never been more opportunities to grow and develop as there are today.  The internet has opened a huge range of possibilities from teleseminars to webinars to podcasts to free reports to name just a few.  You can also put yourself forward for projects, potentially shadow someone more senior or take a secondment.  Essentially find different options to developing so that you can choose a selection which give you the best return for your time.

 

Bottom Line – Achieving leadership success should be viewed as a marathon not a sprint.  So what commitment do you need to make to achieve more success as a leader?

When we read about teams that are successful, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of believing that they are all in perfect harmony, heading in the same direction and effortlessly delivering results.  While this might be great in theory, the difficult stuff and conflict is just part and parcel of any successful team.

 

So what can you do to deal with the difficult stuff in teams?

 

Make facts the primary focus

 

In challenging times it is easy to fall into the trap of getting personal, starting to criticise individuals and saying or doing something that you regret later.  Facts on the other hand are verifiable, objective and not personal.  For example, if there is a report that is showing that the level of sales is falling week after week, this is factual and verifiable.  A discussion around the facts is likely to be more productive and beneficial than getting personal and seeking a scapegoat.

 

Expand the options

 

Whilst logic might make you think that the fewer options the better, research suggests that it might well be worthwhile expanding the options.  Part of the reason for this is that people don’t feel pressurised to back one or the other and be seen to take seconds.  It also means that the energies of the team are on solutions not what has gone wrong.

 

Create a goal everyone can connect to

 

In most organisations there is one common goal that a team can connect to.  Sometimes it might be the client or customer.  At other times it might be an innovation or improvement.  Once you have people looking at the difficulty through a common agreed lens, conflict can reduce and result focus increased.

 

Make the decision making process fair

 

A decision will have to be taken by someone at some point and people accept this as long as they feel that there has been a fair process for reaching decisions.  What this means at a practical level is that people feel like they have had their opportunity to put forward their ideas, views and opinions and that there has been open and transparent debate.

 

Bottom Line – There will always be difficult stuff to deal with when it comes to team working.  The key to successful resolution is to avoid it becoming personal.

Ask the vast majority of managers what their biggest challenges are and you can be certain that having enough time will come pretty high up on their list.

At the same time ask them what they are like when it comes to delegating and chances are they may well be avoiding delegating or just not making the time to do it properly.

 

As a manager, I am guessing that you want to be successful and delegating is just part of the process of being successful.  So what are the dangers of not delegating?

 

Danger 1: You become swamped

 

If you are someone who is not willing to delegate you will sooner or later become completely swamped or overwhelmed.  You no doubt are highly capable otherwise you would not be a manager in the first place.  Yet at the same time you cannot be great at everything.  So if you want to avoid being swamped and do what you do best delegate more.

 

Danger 2: You alienate your team

 

Those that you manage probably thrive on having the opportunity to do new things, learn and be challenged.  If you are the manager who just holds on to everything and never gives anyone else the opportunity, sooner or later your team will stop engaging and supporting you.

 

Danger 3: You miss out on the lowest cost development around

 

When you delegate you create space to take on new challenges which help you to grow and develop.  The work that you delegate presents an opportunity to those that you manage to grow and develop.  If you don’t delegate you miss out on this low cost development opportunity for both you and your team.

 

Danger 4: You don’t deliver

 

Whether you like it or not your success as a manager is measured by the results that you deliver.  If you are trying to do it all by yourself you ultimately won’t deliver results.  The non delivery puts pressure on you which can result in your performance deteriorating even more.

 

Bottom Line- Delegating is an important element of your management success toolbox.  So what’s stopping you from delegating and what is it costing you in terms of results?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Measuring may not be the thing that really excites you as a leader.  At the same time you probably have heard people say over and over again that what gets measured get’s done.  Any business that is serious about achieving results needs to measure performance.  So what are the 5 golden rules of measuring performance?

 

Rule 1: Be clear on what you want to achieve

 

If you don’t know what the end destination is just about any direction will be fine.  Yet the reality is that the clearer you can be about what you want to achieve from your business, the much easier it will be to develop and implement measures.  Taking the time to define in clear and straightforward what you want to achieve is similar to laying foundations for a house. 

 

Rule 2: Separate the things to do from the things that are critical          

 

Filling up your schedule with things to do is not difficult.  It is pretty easy to think that it is volume that matters.  As a leader, you know that what’s important is to be clear on the things that drive results rather than the things that fill up your schedule.  Do you know what those 5 critical things are in your organisation?

 

Rule 3: Watch out for those who focus on the data

 

Information is rarely 100% complete and accurate.  As a result people sometimes focus their time and effort in picking holes in the reports rather than the underlying messages.  Aim to keep people focussed on the big picture and key messages rather than the petty bits of detail.

 

Rule 4: Eliminate the “I thought” discussions

 

What do I mean by the “I thought discussion”? Basically it’s when 6 people have 4 different views on what a particular measure is telling them or how it is calculated.  To overcome this, make the basis of calculation and scope of any measurement crystal clear.

 

Rule 5: Focus on action

 

Measurement is only worthwhile if it results in choice and action.  Keep the focus on what the organisation is going to do as a result the information being identified from the performance measurement.

 

Bottom Line – Performance measurement can be a huge asset in achieving success as a leader.  The question is are you ready to leverage those benefits?

When teams are in flow and upbeat they are able to deliver results with ease.  I know during my career in large organisations that there were times when it felt easy.  At the same time I know that these instances are few and far between.  So why is this?

 

Reason 1: Personal egos get in the way

 

I am sure the majority of people have come across this one.  It is those times when people on the team are more interested in how they look or are viewed by others than the team objective.  It becomes a competition that has little benefit to the team.  Surprising as it might seem, the more senior the people on the team are, the more likely that this type of power struggle arises.

                 

Reason 2: Turf protection

 

We all know our own area of the business or organisation really well.  When we go into a team our experiences to date or the norms of our function significantly influence the way we look at things.  As a result people tend to be resistant to anything that might result in more work or change in their area.  When this turf protection mindset is replicated across a team stalemate can easily arise.

 

Reason 3: Negative attitudes

 

Teams are often established in order to respond to a particular difficulty or challenge that the organisation is facing.  Sometimes the members are so focussed on the obstacles and the difficulties of the challenges just about everyone starts to become negative.  When this happens it is difficult to make any significant progress.

 

Reason 4: No one wants to take a decision

 

The leader should take the decisions- right?  As this often happens most of the time, people when asked to work together find it to take decisions collectively.  This can easily result in a situation where there is a lot of talking, little decision and as a result little action.

 

Reason 5: The wrong people are on the team

 

Another challenge is when people are put on a team not because they are the best person to be part of it but because they have some spare capacity.  A variation on this is where senior people are asked to be on a team but don’t participate and always send a deputy.  While there is nothing wrong with someone deputising, the deputy might be reluctant to make major decisions which can hold up progress.

 

Bottom Line –  Getting teams to work together and deliver results is a real challenge.  What steps do you need to take to improve team working in your organisation?

We all recognise and know what a big difference a leader can make to a team.  At the same time team leadership can be tough.  So what are 5 realities you need to face up to when it comes to team leadership?

 

Reality 1: Your success depends on having the right team

 

While easy to say in practice it is much more difficult to achieve.  You often inherit people or find it difficult to move on those who are not a good fit.  You also need to be adept at identifying the types of people and the qualities you need to create great results.

 

Reality 2: Conflict is part and parcel of a team

 

While you hope to achieve camaraderie and get everyone working together the truth is conflict will always be part and parcel of a team.  As the leader the challenge is to use conflict productively rather than allowing it to be destructive.

 

Reality 3: You need to get all views aired

 

The value of a team is the diversity of opinions, ideas, perspectives and ways of looking at things.  Some will readily offer their thoughts and views while others need to be encouraged to speak up.  As the leader you need to make sure that an equal opportunity to speak is given to everyone.

 

Reality 4: Your status does not guarantee success

 

There may have been a time in the past where leaders achieved success based on position power.  These days such a style of leadership rarely works.  People need to respect you and feel that you respect them if they are going to support you.

 

Reality 5: You set the tone for the team and the results it achieves

 

As the leader the tone you set or even your attitude goes a long way towards the results that a team achieves.  If you have a general attitude of finding a way to achieve something you are much more likely to deliver more than someone who focuses on the obstacles.

 

Bottom Line – Leading a team is tough.  So what do you need to focus on to achieve more success as a leader?

The number one challenge that many managers face is insufficient time to do all of the things that need to get done.  Yet sometimes there are opportunities for managers to delegate work to others to free up time and grow and develop others. So what are 5 golden rules when it comes to effective delegation?

 

Rule 1: Plan it

 

If you are going to have any chance of effectively delegating you need to plan it.  Delegation is not about passing on something to the fist person who comes over to your desk just to get rid of it.  It is about identifying who would be best equipped to deal with a particular piece of work, ensuring that they have they have the capacity and the skills to do it. A little bit of thought can go a long way towards effective delegation.

                                                                                                   

Rule 2: Invest the time to train

 

I chose the word invest deliberately as a decision to delegate is really an investment decision.  Think about it you assign a period of time once to train someone else to do something and get the benefit over and over again.  Don’t see the time that you take to train as a waste of time but as a real log term investment.

 

Rule 3:  Set the boundaries and get out of the way

 

There is nothing more de-moralising than having a situation where a piece of work is delegated to you but the person delegating is checking up on progress every five minutes.  The answer to this is to set out boundaries or things that need referring back to you and then leave the person to get on with it.

 

Rule 4: Establish review points

 

As the manager you do obviously have to have some form of reviewing progress.  When delegating set some milestones and diarise meetings where you and the person to whom you have delegated since down and discuss progress and problems.

 

Rule 5: Create a buffer

 

Things rarely run perfectly to plan so it is important to recognise this and build in some buffer or contingency so that slippage or delay does not create havoc.  Make a point of leaving some space between the time when you need something and the deadline you set for those that you delegate to.

 

Bottom Line – Effective delegation can help you deliver better results.  So what do you need to start doing to be a more effective delegator?

 

As a manager, major part of your role is to get the best from the people that you manage.  You know that a motivated employee will go that extra step to deliver or help you to deliver results.  So what are the 5 golden rules when it comes to motivating?

 

Rule 1:  Get to know your people

                                                                                                        

Yes you probably know who all of your staff are, their job title and what they do.  On the other hand do you really know what it is that motivates the people you manage.  While everyone needs to earn a wage, each of us has different things that motivate us.  For some it will be being supported, for others it will be about having autonomy and others might thrive on challenge.  If you don’t know what motivates people you could easily end up de-motivating people by using inappropriate strategies.

 

Rule 2: Make time for those that you manage

 

Most managers are busy people and no doubt you are to.  When you have your deadlines to meet and results to deliver it is all too easy to forget about the people that you manage.  If you fail to set aside time for interacting with the people that you manage it simply will not happen.  If your boss never made any time for you, how motivated would you be?

 

Rule 3:  Make a point of noticing effort and achievement

 

The best mangers realise that time spent letting people know that you are aware of the effort they are making or the result that they have delivered is time well spent.  All of us to a greater or lesser extent thrive on getting feedback so don’t lose out on the opportunity.

 

Rule 4: Create a sense of excitement

 

All jobs after a while become more routine and less fresh and exciting.  As the manager you need to try and keep that sense of excitement in roles.  This might be by challenging people to find new or better ways of doing something or giving them more freedom to do things their way.

 

Rule 5: Remember it is rarely about money

 

Yes everyone needs to earn what they view is a reasonable rate of pay for the time, expertise and effort that they have given.  On the other hand study after study into what matters to employees reveal that the source of dissatisfaction is rarely just about money.  Make a point of keeping the things that make people tick at the forefront of your mind.

 

 

Bottom Line – A happy, motivated team of people who you manage can help you deliver great results.  So what do you need to give more attention to in order to be a more successful manager?