Posts Tagged ‘Teams’

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

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

Creativity is an important aspect in any team that is aiming to deliver great results.  If you have two teams and one plays it safe within the boundaries of what they already know and another one that is always seeking to test the possibilities, chances are that the latter will have more success.

 

So how can you unlock the creativity in teams so that they contribute to great results?

 

Brainstorming

 

Brainstorming is a highly effective technique where team members initially put forward ideas freely without discussion and debate.  These ideas are then reviewed to establish which are likely to have the greatest impact and also to determine the challenges and obstacles to making the ideas reality.

 

Ask lots of questions

 

Questions are often the thing that can really help a team shift to a new level.  However, not any old question will do.  Questions that are likely to open up possibilities and unlock creativity are likely to be short, forward focussed and non threatening.  Examples include:

 

• What’s possible?
• What matters?
• What do we need to do?
• What’s the first step?
• What else?

 

Think big picture

 

Detail has its time and place but when in the creative space, you want to be keeping the focus on the big picture, the end game or vision.  Holding this as the focus will encourage people to push the boundaries.

 

Encourage real active listening

 

We all love to get our point across, be heard and be the person who comes up with the breakthrough.  At the same time if everyone is focusing on what they want to say, chances are no one is really listening and when no one is listening things get missed or lost in the noise.

 

Don’t stereotype

 

On a team, especially if it is cross functional, it is really easy to fall into the trap of stereotyping folks.  You know the scenario, only the marketing folk are creative, the accountants are only interested if it makes a payback quickly, the human resources folks are only worried about what it means for staff, the production folks are only interested in top specification, etc.  Remember, people are not so limited as job roles would have you believe, so embrace and use the diversity of views.

 

Bottom Line – All breakthroughs come from an idea so what do you need to be doing differently to unlock the creativity in your teams?

 

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professionals improve leadership and management skilss and team working.  For information about services and programmes click here 

A team is a group of people doing something together to produce a specific result or outcome.  None of us, no matter how good we are can be great at everything.  So what are 6 key advantages of teams?

 

Advantage 1: Increases productivity

 

Organisations are continuously looking for efficiency or productivity gains as a source of competitive advantage.  Teams, especially those that are close to the point of delivery can identify what needs to change to boost productivity better than any group of senior managers could ever hope to.  Let the team focus on productivity and the organisation gains.

 

Advantage 2: Improves communication skills

 

For teams to succeed they need to be able to get their messages across, listen effectively to other points of view and build on ideas.  As a result of being on the team, people are getting the opportunity to develop and improve their communication skills.

 

Advantage 3: Diversity of skills

 

Some people in organisations thrive in dealing with the big picture stuff.  Others get their kick from getting immersed in the detail.  There will be others who thrive on idea generation and others who love to take something from concept to finished article.  This diverse range of people skills and working together have the potential to deliver a much better solution than any one individual could ever hope to do.

 

Advantage 4: Improved problem solving

 

Think about a time when you had a problem that you needed to solve.  You probably get so far and then end up getting stuck because of your own range of experience or knowledge. When you have access to the wider range of skills and knowledge you ultimately solve problems faster and better.

 

Advantage 5: Process improvement

 

Few business processes operate in isolation just within one area of the organisation.  They tend to cross functions and even geographical boundaries.  A team with insights of different parts of the process will clearly be better placed to make successful process improvements.

Advantage 6: Smarter use of resources

 

When a team has focus on getting a specific result, chances are they will find creative ways of using the resources at their disposal rather than focusing on the constraints.

 

Bottom Line – There are numerous advantages of teams.  What else would you add to the list of advantages.

 

 

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to improve their leadership and management skills and getting better results through teams.  For information about services and programmes click here 

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.

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?

Leading a team on the face of it looks really easy. In reality it can be extremely challenging. As well as having the eyes of your boss and peers looking at how you are performing, you have to deal with all the different personalities and characters in the team you lead.

 

Given these pressures, it would be easy to crack and really struggle as a team leader.  Yet in truth there are things that you can do to become a better team leader.  So what are 7 things that you can do to become a better team leader?

 

Increase your self awareness

 

If you are going to lead a team effectively, you need to have a high level of self awareness.  Being self aware is not about identifying all of your faults but about understanding your motivators, your impact, what you do well and where you struggle.  When you are armed with these insights you start to build your team from really strong foundations.

 

Be clear about what is to be delivered

 

Every team exists for a reason and ultimately it is to deliver some result or contribution to business results.  As the team leader, you need to understand totally what is expected from the team and be able to effectively communicate it to other team members.

 

Involve others

 

Imagine there are two teams.  In the first team all of the ideas, ways of working and plans are developed by the team leader and imposed.  In the second team, the team leader fully involves team members in coming up with ideas, creating plans and deciding how to achieve them.  Which team do you think will deliver most?  As the team leader, focus on involving others more.

 

Have an effective decision making process

 

Every team member might not agree 100% with every decision that is taken but on the other hand they will find procrastination even more frustrating.  Make sure that for significant team decisions there is a clear process and criteria for reaching decisions so that things keep moving forward.

 

Don’t ignore the deficiencies

 

It is incredibly difficult to deliver results through a team if you have deficiencies in terms of resources, skills and expertise. At the same time, it can be incredibly tempting to make do, especially if you know that the organisation is facing challenging times. 

 

Don’t fall into the trap of ignoring deficiencies in the hope that they will go away.   Tackle them so that you keep progressing.

 

Encourage and support others

 

It is so easy to forget just how difficult it was when you were doing something for the first time or operating in a new set of circumstances.  Some just deal with this without any problems while others will have crisis of confidence.  As the leader, make a point of encouraging and supporting others through the good and not so good times.

 

Remember to recognise team effort

 

It never ceases to amaze me just how few leaders take the time to recognise the efforts and contributions of the team to deliver.  If you are someone who falls into this category, do something to create a habit of looking out for good things that the team has tried or done and acknowledge them for their efforts.

 

Bottom Line – Becoming a better team leader is a career long learning process.  So what steps can you take to become an even better team leader?

Put the same problem in front of 10 different groups in any organisation and they will all view it differently.  We all, to a greater or lesser extent view things through our own unique lens or perspective.

Let’s look at something that is probably quite topical in organisations right now, which is cost reduction.  One area of commonality is that every individual or group will be thinking what does it me for me or us. 

On the other hand if you asked people for their views on how others might view the issue, you might hear something like the following:

“The accountants will be in their element and finally feel like they are doing something useful”

“At last an opportunity to reign in those rogues in sales and marketing who never pay attention to any financial procedures”

“The CEO is only interested in engaging us to save his or her own skin”

“I hope that they don’t expect us to contribute as we are already cut to the bone in terms of staffing”

“No doubt it will be the lowest paid and least respected that will get a rough deal”

So if you are the leader who is trying to move things forward, how can you utilise these different perspectives?

Listen a lot

The real challenge is to get to the heart of the issue and that requires you to listen.  You often find that what they are presenting as the surface level problem is not the real issue.

Ask questions

Questions are another great way of really understanding the different perspectives.  Combine this with great listening and you are going to be well ahead of most.

Stand back from the detail

It is all too easy when times are tough and difficult choices need to be made to unconsciously become a collaborator.  While you need to listen and understand, don’t let it result in you losing sight of the issue or challenge.

Be open

In organisations, it is often the people closest to the point of delivery that come up with the best solutions.  Be open to these opportunities rather than needing to be right.

Bottom Line – We all to a greater or lesser extent view challenges through one lens. The challenge to be more successful when it comes to team effectiveness is learning to understand and utilise the different perspectives.