Posts Tagged ‘successful teams’

Successful teams are highly motivated and consistently deliver better results than any one individual working alone could ever hope to.  If as the leader of the team you are to get optimal performance, you need to be leveraging the skills, qualities and expertise of each and every team member.

 

So how do you do this?

 

Know your team

 

Okay, I guess that if you asked a team leader whether they really know their team, chances are that they would say they do.  While this might be true for a minority, in my experience, most leaders don’t really understand the range of skills and expertise available to them.

 

As the leader, make time to find out what range of skills, expertise and attributes that each team member has and then start utilising these.

 

Be a role model

 

If you want to bring out the best in your teams, why not consider being a role model for the team.   Often people confuse the idea of being a role model with being a bit of a show off. 

 

By being a role model, you will demonstrate the skills and the behaviours that others can follow.  This benefits the results and also the individual as they acquire new skills.

 

Let go of your ego

 

You might well be one of the greatest leaders around.  However, the job in the team is to get results and bring out the best in everyone.  When you are more interested in how you look and how you are seen by others, your personal ego ends up being a barrier to team results.

 

Remember it is the results that matter rather than looking good personally.

 

Deal with the overly dominant people

 

In teams there will be some people who are natural extroverts and others who are more introverts.  The challenge as the leader is to make sure that those who are most vocal and outgoing don’t dominate the proceedings rather than encouraging the contributions of others.

 

Make a commitment to training the extroverts to involve others and help the less vocal to get their contributions heard.

 

See beyond the labels

 

Right or wrongly, people tend to be pigeon holed based on their job title or function that they work in.  You know the scenario, accountants are only interested in numbers, only marketing are creative, human resources are too soft and not commercial to name a few.

 

As the leader never confuse roles with people.  Just because someone chooses to work in a particular function does not mean that they only have skills in that area.

 

 

Bottom Line – Well run teams can deliver great results.  So what do you need to start focusing on to leverage the brilliance of teams?

1. Strong fit in terms of personal and organisational values
2. You don’t have to micro manage people
3. People can distinguish between jobs and responsibilities
4. People deliver on commitments
5. People are passionate about the company and their work
6. People give credit to others

Bottom Line – Having the right team is vital to achieving success.  So how does your team measure up?

Highly effective teams can achieve extraordinary results for the organisations that they serve.  Achieving success for the organisation leads to greater personal success, and achievement.  Yet in truth, team success is not guaranteed.  So what are 5 common barriers to team success and what can you do to avoid them?

Barrier 1: Fuzzy outcomes

If a team is to prosper and deliver results, it needs to be crystal clear about the results or outcomes that are expected to be delivered by the team.  Too often teams are set outcomes that are fuzzy and vague which unsurprisingly leads to little in terms of results.  Make the outcomes specific and measurable.  For example, reduce waste from product X by 10% by 31 December 2008 is both specific and measurable.

Barrier 2: Unproductive conflict

All successful teams need to have challenge and conflict otherwise it all becomes too cosy.  On the other hand, it is important to ensure that conflict is productive rather than destructive or unproductive.  Lively and heated debate that actually results in a better outcome or solution is an example of productive conflict.  Challenge that focuses on all of the negatives without offering any alternatives is unproductive.

Barrier 3: Playing it safe

Making a step change in performance or turning things round requires teams and team members to take some risk and step out of their comfort zone.  This will only happen if the culture within the organisation supports and rewards this type of innovative and balanced risk taking approach.  For example, if the culture is to look for scapegoats when things go wrong, people will keep within the safety boundaries rather than taking a chance.

Barrier 4: Individual agendas

If a team is to prosper, all members need to sign up to and be committed to the team goals first foremost.  For many this is particularly challenging as in business, we are used to being concerned about our own individual situation.  Creating a reward system that relies on the group can be a useful stepping stone to encouraging teams to focus on the team agenda.

Barrier 5: Leadership

In teams someone has to take on the role of the leader.  A team without a leader is like a ship without a captain.  The team might select a leader or as the team develops someone may emerge who is the natural leader.  However, any successful team needs a leader.

Bottom Line – Teams can achieve great results but it is essential that the barriers to team success are identified and addressed.  So what barriers are getting in the way of your teams success?

Teams exist to deliver results and when they do it well they deliver much more than any one of us could do individually.  Pillars are the foundations that contribute to success and include:

1. Having a common purpose or goal
2. High levels of trust
3. Good communication
4. Positiveness
5. Proactiveness
6. Strong results focus

To learn more about leading and managing successful team, check out this free audio masterclass