As managers, we are responsible for not only our own performance, but for the performance of our entire team – a group of people who may have different personalities, talents, skills, interests, and sources of motivation.
This, to put it simply, makes our job difficult.
In business as in sports, we have our teams and coaches, our plays and strategies and wins. And in many areas of business, as in most sports, teams consist of individuals in specialized positions. Each person needs to be suited to the role they fill, and develop the skill set necessary to perform effectively in that position.
But to perform effectively, a team can’t just be a group of people doing jobs. They also need to work together – support one another, cover each other’s gaps, and collectively strive towards the same goals. Each team member, whatever their role, has to pull his or her own weight.
To make this happen, we can’t just rely on luck. We need a process, and we need a plan.
Building a Team
There are five essential pieces we need to have in place in order to build an effective, productive, and functional team:
Charter
This is a step that is often missed when forming a team. While a formal charter may not always be necessary, there does need to at least be a shared understanding and agreement about the team’s purpose and goals. Without this, our people will lack cohesion, which can lead to miscommunication and interpersonal conflict.
The team needs direction about:
The team needs to create a solid foundation for the work of all its members, and meet the needs of each person so that they can fully contribute. A team vision statement or charter provides the team with a shared model for working together.
Roles
Different people have different characteristics. Each team member’s temperament, background, education, experience, talents, and skill set is likely to make them more suited for some roles than others.
If we get to know our team members, we’ll find out what they’re good at. Make sure all roles are clearly defined so everyone knows what resources are available and who is responsible for what. Assign people to handle leadership, facilitation, logistics, information management, decision-making, public relations, and other tasks according to their strengths.
Feedback
In order to ensure that the lines of communication stay open and feedback is delivered in a timely and effective way, a process needs to exist. Whether feedback goes through formal or informal channels, both management and team members should know how to carry out an effective feedback conversation and gain agreement on an action plan.
Conflict
Even if the team works together well, disagreements and conflict will arise from time to time. An effective plan for conflict resolution is essential. Team members should be trained on collaborative conflict resolution, and management should be prepared to mediate or intervene as necessary to keep conflict from leading to loss of productivity.
Leadership
As the manager, the team looks to us for leadership. We need to take our role seriously, and recognize that what employees really want from us is to know exactly what we expect. The more clearly we communicate with them about their roles and our expectations, define guidelines, and offer feedback, the better the team will be able to perform.
Baker Communications offers leading edge Management Training solutions that will help you address the goals and achieve the solutions addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that leads to better performance and greater productivity, click here.
