Self Help

In part one in our crash course on building a productive team through solid leadership we discussed three important variables that should be part of your team-building approach. Today we are going to continue with four more very important components to the task of creating an effective, productive, and motivated team.

1. Communicate your positions on key issues. The leader’s positions must be clear and concise. We tend to trust leaders when we know where they stand in relation to the organization relative to the environment. In most organizations, major issues that affect the organization are being debated day in and day out. Undoubtedly you will form your own opinions on these various issues. Your people will want to know how you stand on these matters so simply tell them. And, on a given issue, do not be overly concerned about holding a consistent view over time. As Emerson stated so well: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.'’
2. Involve team members in setting unit objectives. Most books on management by objectives are missing a vital step. Typically, the author recommends that the beginning point be a meeting between the supervisor and the employee to agree on the employee’s performance objectives for the coming review period. What is needed before this meeting is a meeting of the key people in the group in which the team formulates the unit objectives for the coming year. This would then be followed by the one-on-one meetings between the supervisor and each employee to agree on the employee’s performance objectives, which should be written to support the unit objectives.
3. Involve team members in developing strategies. Once the unit objectives are formulated for the coming year, it is then necessary to formulate strategies on how best to achieve the objectives. It might be tempting for you as a manager to sit in your office and develop these strategies single-handedly. Resist that temptation! Set up a meeting in which you and your people formulate the strategies on a team basis. Assuming that your people have relevant knowledge and experience, the chances are good that you will generate better strategies than what you would have accomplished alone. Most important is that your people will all say, “We did this ourselves.'’
4. Involve team members in solving problems. There should be many opportunities for involving your people in problem-solving activities on a team basis. This does not mean that you should involve your people every time a problem arises. It does mean, however, that you should involve them when they are likely to make a significant contribution and when it is important to get their ownership of the solution.