Archive for the ‘Teams’ Category

Teams, we all know, have the potential to deliver great results but often don’t reach that potential.

At the same time, we sometimes make some assumptions that may or may not be valid. So what are some of the common myths about team working?

Myth 1: People instinctively know how to work in teams
• The reality is that most of us are masters at looking after Number One – ourselves. Think about it: most of our life it is what we do ourselves that determines success.

Myth 2: A team is always the best option

• Teams work best when there is dependency. If one person can do it all alone, there is no need for a team.

Myth 3: The bigger the team the better

• You might think that a bigger team will bring more skills, ideas or contributions. The reality is that a team will work best when small, typically 3 to 7 people.

Myth 4: People will choose to be team players

• They may say so in job interviews but the reality is that most people look after their own interests and pursue their own agendas.

The reality is that teams working well on a clearly defined outcome can make a big difference.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

Reality 1:
• You need to give the team a clear outcome.

Reality 2:

• People on teams are more likely to embrace decisions if they are involved.

Reality 3:

• Trust is key to any successful team.

Reality 4:

• The team members need to be aligned behind a common purpose or outcome.

Reality 5:

• You need to know how to get the best from every team member.

What other suggestions would you add to the list of realities?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

We all like to achieve things individually but, in the organisational context, we all know that much more can be achieved from teams.

So what are the key differences a team can make?

Breadth

A team brings a much greater range of skills, experience, knowledge and attributes than any one individual could ever bring alone.

Support

Being part of a team offers support which can keep the momentum going through the more difficult and challenging times.

Diversity

Few of us look at problems or challenges in exactly the same way. This diversity of ideas can really help broaden thinking and developing solutions that deliver great results.

Growth and development

Being part of a team such as a project team can provide individuals with low cost ways of having access to personal growth and development.

The Bottom Line

The truth is teams can really make a difference to personal and organisational success. What else would you add to the list?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

If you are a leader or manager, chances are your personal drive, desire to get things done as well as your ability to get on with others got you to where you are right now.

As you become more senior, the success you achieve is as much about your ability to get results through others as it is about what you do personally.

So what are 6 reasons why you cannot do it all by yourself if you want to succeed as a leader or manager?

1. There is only one of you.
2. Your capacity is capped at 24 hours a day.
3. No matter how good you are at your job, there are going to be things that you are not very good at.
4. You are expected to manage, lead and get results through others, not to be the Lone Ranger.
5. If you do it all alone, you can only progress one thing at a time.
6. You deprive others of the opportunity to grow and develop if you try to do everything.

The Bottom Line

Success as a manager or leader in today’s complex and demanding business world can only be achieved through the efforts of many. So what do you need to let go of to achieve more success?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

Managing or leading a team does not come with a procedure manual which, if you follow, always gets the result that you want.

At the same time, there are certain things that you can do to get the support of your team:

1. Listen to their points of view, opinions or ideas.
2. Don’t assume that everyone will react with enthusiasm.
3. Acknowledge their worries or concerns at a time of change or uncertainty.
4. Explain not just the ‘what’ but also the ‘why’ when making changes.
5. Don’t see objections as being negative.
6. Reassure and explain to them how you will personally support them.
7. Use past successes as a way of showing how it is possible to overcome challenges.

What else would you add to the list based on your experience?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

1. Maintaining morale and keeping people positive.
2. Generating new and different ideas to tackle old and long standing problems.
3. Dealing effectively with the underperformers.
4. Getting everyone to pull together, especially when they have different values or aspirations.
5. Dealing with the dominant people who try to railroad everything to suit their circumstances.

What else would you add?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

Leading a team brings both challenges and rewards, so what are 10 key things that you need to be doing to successfully lead a team?

1. Be a great listener. Use your ears and mouth in the correct proportion.
2. Take decisions and don’t procrastinate. Remember, decisions lead to action and action leads to results.
3. Be clear about what you are trying to achieve.
4. Delegate as much as you can.
5. Be a role model for great team behaviour.
6. Be authentic and don’t put on an act.
7. Step into others’ shoes and look at things from their perspective.
8. Take responsibility when things don’t go to plan.
9. Encourage everyone to air their views and make their contribution.
10. Facilitate overcoming the obstacles that get in the way of team success.

The Bottom Line

Team leadership can make a huge difference to the results delivered. What do you need to do more of to get better results?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

Divides the effort

One of the great benefits of teams is that you can take what appears to be a mammoth task and divide those tasks between people. As a result, things get done faster.

Creates more ideas

One person operating on their own can generate ideas. At the same time, the breadth of the ideas of one individual will be limited by their experiences to date. With a team with a wide range of experiences, you can generate many more ideas.

You become the facilitator

In his book, Teamwork 101, John C Maxwell states that the true measure of a leader is getting people to work hard together. In many ways, I see this as the leader facilitating or enabling great team performance.

Camaraderie

On all the great teams that I have been part of, there was always a huge sense of camaraderie. This enabled us to get things done even when the odds seemed to be stacked against us.

You learn quickly

One of the fastest ways to get good at something is to see someone in action who is already excellent in an area. When team members all play to their strengths, you learn a lot quickly.

The bottom line

The truth is teams have the potential to deliver great benefits. So what’s the biggest benefit you have experienced from being part of a team?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. For more information click here

Teams have the potential to deliver extraordinary results. At the same time, there is no such thing as the perfect team. So what are some real truths about teams?

Truth 1: There Will Be Conflict

Teams will from time to time have periods of conflict. This is just the way it is. The challenge is to make sure that the conflict remains productive rather than destructive.

Truth 2: It Is Hard To Get People to Pull In the Same Direction

After nearly 30 years of working in or with teams, I still see people struggling to pull in the same direction. Remember, it is natural to think about the personal impact on you or your people when team decisions are being made.

Truth 3: Building Trust Takes Time

A team does not just come together and instantly work together. There need to be high levels of trust, which take time to build.

Truth 4: There Is No Magic Formula

There are things that you can do; ways in which you act and structure you can put in place. At the end of the day however, there is no magic formula that works every time.

Truth 5: It Takes a Major Mindset Shift

For most of our life, we are judged on what we do individually. For example, most academic achievement is geared towards individual performance. Moving towards team working requires a mindset shift.

The Bottom Line

If you are willing to invest the time and effort in creating team success, you can achieve great results. Just remember that it is more like middle distance running than the 100 metre sprint.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. For more information click here

As your career starts to gain momentum and you start to demonstrate what you can deliver personally, chances are you will find yourself in a position where you are given your own team to lead. Leading a team brings with it a number of challenges and can feel like no matter what you do someone will be unhappy. So if you are to succeed as a team leader, what 5 qualities are essential to your success?

Quality 1: An effective listener

One of the most important and yet most challenging things for team leaders is effectively listening to others. It can be hugely tempting to try and rely on your position power to make things happen and while this might get some results in the short term it is unlikely to work in the long term. Make listening more effectively and actively a priority if you want to make an immediate improvement in your team leadership competency.

Quality 2: Treating everyone fairly

Just as in life, there will be some people that you connect with more than others. This in itself is not a problem as such unless it starts to compromise how you treat others. Treat everyone fairly and you will gain the respect and support of those that you lead in most cases.

Quality 3: Providing clear direction

As the leader of the team you need to provide direction to others. This includes giving a clear message of the overall direction of the team or function as well as clearly setting the expectations of the team of people that you lead. If you fail to do this, chances are that the results that you deliver will be less than they could potentially be.

Quality 4: Making decisions

You might not always have 100% support for every decision that you make but people will value the fact that you take decisions. Being led by someone who procrastinates over every decision is a huge de-motivator and hugely frustrating for those that you lead.

Quality 5: A genuine interest in others

If you don’t show any interest in helping others to achieve results and success in their careers why should they be interested in helping you get results? Team leaders who make the time to take a genuine interest in helping others achieve results will get benefits well in excess of the investment of time and energy that that they make.

Bottom Line – Team leadership is challenging and rewarding. Doing some simple things exceptionally can make a huge difference to the results and success that you achieve.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professionals and organisations to achieve better results through improved team working.  Click here for my free audio masterclass Leading and Managing Highly Productive and Highly Positive Teams