Tom wants to advance. He is ambitious. He’s a skilled contributor within his team and beyond. In his organization, the next step forward is to become a team leader. He takes that step with confidence and enthusiasm. But one year later, his team is faltering. Morale is falling. Two of his best team members have moved on to other firms. Tom is discouraged and confused.
If you are like me, you dreaded working in teams when you were in school. I treated teamwork as if it all depended on me. Many in my involuntary team liked that approach and let me do (what felt like) most of the work. Like Tom, I was driven and successful when working independently. I never considered that my professional success would depend so much on working interdependently as part of a team.
Yet here we are! We ARE working together, and our organization depends on the success of its most basic building block – teams.
Tom’s story is a common one. Many of us make the transition from highly skilled employee to struggling team leader. How can Tom strengthen his team and his approach to leadership? Here are three keys to successful team development:
1. Focus on relationships
“Knowing your stuff” technically is not enough to lead a team. Effective team leaders also know and are known by their teammates. Patrick Lencioni famously reminds us that leaders must demonstrate vulnerability to build trust. The more open we are, the more others will follow our example. The more a team trusts each other, the more productive and effective they will become. That’s because team members know it’s safe to discuss issues deeply, engage in productive conflict, and hold each other accountable. They commit fully when decisions are made, and they focus on and achieve results together.
Every team model includes trusting relationships somewhere in the foundation. Ignore trust and you will fail as a team leader. So, what’s a leader to do?
- Evaluate your “trust quotient.” Do you trust your team? How well does your team trust you? What holds you back from being authentic and human with your team? Who could help you seek better personal understanding? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses or potential blind spots? How are you sharing yourself with others?
- Get to know your team as individuals. Who are they? Where are they from? What was their family of origin like? What led them to choose this career? What do they find easy? Where are their challenges? What are their strengths? Where do they want to grow and develop? What are they passionate about?
2. Measure success carefully
We tend to get what we measure. So how do you quantify success as a team leader – profit, utilization, budget, deadlines, quality, employee retention and engagement? These are all important and quantifiable, but they are almost always lagging indicators. They are the results of an effective team.
Consider some leading indicators of success. Here are some goals you might score and keep visible for your team weekly:
- Establish and agree to weekly milestones. What project tasks must be completed this week? Who is assigned? What’s the deadline? How well are we coordinating the handoffs?
- Measure the climate of team meetings. Do we readily admit personal mistakes or weaknesses? Are we mutually accountable to follow through? How well do we disagree and resolve these conflicts? Could you give this a score each week and then discuss the team climate?
- Clarify overall team goals for the short term (three to four months). Are we making progress or lagging behind? What group and individual accomplishments are acknowledged? Where do we need to improve?
3. Develop leaders at all levels
To be a leader one must develop personal responsibility in each team member. This is not about titles or formal authority. This is about personal ownership.
Think about your team members. Are you giving them the opportunity to lead themselves, stand on their own, follow through, and invest in others? Are you continuing to grow as a leader and making those efforts visible to your team? Who is your likely successor? How can you acknowledge the progress of individuals and the group? Who needs encouragement? How are you coaching each person to take ownership?
Teams are fascinating organisms. They are ever-changing. Your organization and manager measure your success as a leader by how your team functions together to get results. You cannot do the work alone. You must orchestrate the team. As the conductor or maestro, you must know every player, coordinate the processes and effort, and develop leaders who take ownership.
