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Published on Monday, the 22nd of February 2010 |
There's nothing new about businessmen, generals, record producers or sports coaches trying to extract a whole greater than the sum of the parts at their disposal. From Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin with their '20% special projects time' to Napoleon and his lucky Generals to 5th Beatle George Martin and serial title winner Sir Alex Ferguson, leaders with wisdom and vision know only too well that little if anything is achieved without great teamwork. They also understand that truly great teamwork can more often than not create unforeseen additional value and rewards.
We've all worked in teams. Many of us will have built teams. Some of them have been successful - it's amazing sometimes how a blend, a chemistry of people, passion and motivation can deliver remarkable results. But a large proportion will have fallen short of the mark – dysfunctional, under-performing wrecks of disparate energy. As Charles Handy says, 'A good team is a great place to be, exciting, stimulating, supportive, successful. A bad team is horrible, a sort of human prison.'
Building a successful team, a group of people who not only achieve objectives but in an even more rewarding scenario manage to sustain their success over time as well, isn't easy and clearly it's a skill. Some people seem natural leaders who are born to the task. Others are players, more comfortable tending to the machine as opposed to driving it. It's not all nature, though. There are aspects of teamwork and building better, more loyal and more productive teams than can be nurtured.
What are the factors that you should look for? Which aspects of team building should be nurtured, and which should be neutered? How can you, either as a team leader or member of a team, best work towards success? Sure, the clichés – the 'there's no I in team' or 'TEAM =Together Everyone Achieves More' – are truisms. But simply resorting to clichés won't yield real life benefits. What are the components needed to build a successful team and to successfully sustain it? Here are just a few ideas.
Vision: You need an ambitious singular goal to inspire and motivate your team. Not so ambitious that it intimidates but challenging enough for people to rise to. Small incremental steps won't energise - you need a big picture.
Iteration: Whilst remaining fixed on the endgame let your team run free and see what they can come up with. No boundaries, no rules, no constraints. Call this Stage 1. You can use the completion of Stage 1 as a point where you can reflect on progress and discuss amends and alternatives. This adds a level of planning and consensus and naturally consigns rejection to 'future alternatives.'
Opportunity costs: Everything has a price. The cost of people working on your project is the value of the work they are unable to complete elsewhere. What if they still need to complete that work anyway? If teams believe in the project and if they find it exciting enough they will find the time to commit to it. Inspire them and in the process if necessary help them organise their work schedules to free up the time so that they can contribute to the project effectively.
Define success: Let your team define their own measurable deliverables based on what they feel are the important elements of project success from their point of view. Encourage debate and discussion on how they might best go about meeting their own goals. This ties in closely with...
Ownership: It won't take you long to see who really 'gets' the project, who's enthused and fired up by what's happening around them, and which team members are taking the project to their hearts. Empower them with responsibility, authority and control. Stand back and watch the benefits pile up. Sometimes teams can pick themselves – go with the flow and let the natural owners assume natural ownership.
Stoicism and support: Your role is to encourage, motivate, support and guide the team through the challenges they face. Remain calm and remain composed. There are bound to be problems, even disasters. So be prepared in your own mind to cope with the adversity as well as the successes. It's vital that your team knows that you are on their side and looking out for them – that you genuinely care for them. Remember too that the moment you start pointing fingers you start to lose control. If you lose control you lose your team and without them you've lost.
Inspire loyalty: Read your team members. How are they feeling? How can you make them feel better? Assign them interesting, rewarding, CV strengthening jobs. Recognise individual contributions and always let your team members see the bigger picture and how their efforts are influencing it.
Is your team in place – aligned and optimised? Take your accounting, your tax management and planning for example. Are you 100% confident that your team is supported with the best possible accountancy and tax partner? If you have any doubts make sure you call St Matthew for more information on what we can contribute to your business team.
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