Well I took the plunge and created my first video blog post today on the topic of getting the best from teams.

Obviously this is a new challenge for me and I would really value your comments and feedback

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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

As a manager you know that to deliver great results consistently you need to get the best from those that you manage.  So what steps can you take to bring out the best from your team?

1.                  Set crystal clear objectives

The start point of getting the best from people that you manage is to make it clear to them what they are expected to deliver.  Often managers become stuck in the long list of activities that are contained in a job description.  While this provides some important content, make a point of spelling out the 5 key results that you expect individuals in the team you manage to deliver.

2.                  Help them solve their own problems

As a busy manager it is sometimes highly tempting to solve problems for people so that you get them away from your desk as quickly as possible.  The trouble is that if you always do this, people will stop thinking for themselves and just come to you for the answers.  Use questions to coach people to find their own solutions to problems and challenges.

3.                  Take the time to praise

Few people (if any) turn up for work with the intention of doing a bad job.  Yet managers often forget this and fail to recognise the efforts and achievements of their people.  Make a point of praising achievement and acknowledging efforts as it will motivate.

4.                  Delegate whenever you can

There are few managers who could be accused of over delegating.  In fact it is generally the complete opposite.  Delegating does not just provide benefits to you in terms of freeing up time but also provides scope for those that you manage to take on new challenges.

5.                  Treat people fairly

Treat people well and chances are that the majority will go to exceptional lengths to deliver for you. A good rule of thumb to check this out is to ask whether you are treating others the way you would like to be treated in the given situation.

Bottom Line – Managing is tough at times but by bringing out the best in others you can achieve greater success. 

Effective teams and groups deliver more results quicker than any individual ever could.  So what do you need to do as a manager or leader to bring out the best in teams?

1. Give them a clear purpose

The best teams know why they exist and what issue or issues they are tackling.  In other words they have a very clear purpose.  If you want to get the best from teams give them a clear and unambiguous purpose.

2. Get the right people on the team

If teams are to prosper they need to have people on the team with the right mix of skills, knowledge and personal attributes to deliver results.  Ask yourself what’s missing on a team and then look for ways of getting people on the team to address these gaps.

3. Set expectations

You don’t want to micro manage teams but at the same time you need to be willing to set some expectations of the team.  These expectations will include areas such as what is to be delivered, ways of behaving and ways of interacting to name just a few.

4. Encourage innovation

Have you ever noticed that when you get a group of people together, whole range of ideas and possibilities are created?  Encourage teams to innovate and translate these ideas and possibilities into solutions that result in a step change in performance and results achieved.

5. Support risk taking

When teams are taking risk they are more than likely moving towards action.  Encourage and support teams to take balanced risks having weighed up the benefits and drawbacks.

Bottom Line – Bringing out the best in teams can lead to significant change in organisational performance.  So what do you need to do differently to bring out the best in your teams?