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Team up for success

A few enlightened interviewers undertake in-depth analyses to ascertain if a candidate is a team player or not. Most people find it difficult to acknowledge that they are not team players, and very few act on this and strive to change for the better. However talented a person may be, being a ‘lone ranger’ is a big handicap. If this is coupled with a superiority complex, then the person becomes insufferable to others, and sooner or later ends up alienating himself.

This attitude does damage to the individual’s personal and professional growth. It also has a negative impact on the organisation at large. Working together as a team has rewarding benefits. Work is done faster, conflicts are kept at bay, and the individual gets the needed exposure to grow and develop. Adaptability and flexibility are given a boost, and mentoring comes to play a major role.

Some things to make it work:

Camaraderie at work

Coordinating with your colleagues matters most when you are working as a team, especially when your work depends on the inputs and findings of another. This gives you a chance to be mutually accountable as well. Keeping others clued-in about your progress and findings will be helpful, especially when you are absent in case of an emergency. Work needn’t be duplicated or held up on account of one person’s absence.

Collaborate to perform

Organisational working will receive a face-lift when employees are aware of goals and targets. Every person needs to pitch in, to provide expertise in his or her area of competence. A verbal mention of your experience and expertise should be made, so that you can be called in at the right time. Try and work on a given job you are proficient at, along with a junior, so that he gets to learn the ropes and knowledge is disseminated.

Meetings and more

During meetings, make it a point to communicate happenings and the status of a given project. Encourage the participation of all the team members. Celebrate successes, and important milestones- at least try to initiate the process.

Sporting to win

Try to foster team spirit by organising outings, out-bound training exercises and sporting events. Make it a point to attend social gatherings arranged by the company. Informal interaction improves inter and intra team relationships.

A word to managers

If you happen to be a manager, see that you implement the right conflict resolution strategies. Also encouraging and rewarding team players, can act as a stimuli for others to follow suit. Make employees who exhibit the behaviour contrary to team spirit understand the need for it. This will not only ensure smooth functioning, but also promote organisational success as well.

Esprit de corps!

A dream team doesn’t just happen. It needs to be painstakingly built up. This takes patience, energy, a clear focus on the outcome and the determination to succeed. A successful team is the outcome of the efforts of a successful leader!

A winning team is possible, with the following team building techniques…

Share the goal

Define the teams purpose and goals clearly. It’s not enough to have a written mission statement, sometimes a different message can get conveyed through writing, than was intended. Reinforce the mission, vision and goal statements verbally whenever possible. Do it on a one-to one basis and as often as you can.

Involve them

If you want your team to “own” the project, encourage members to help shape the teams goals and vision. People like to get involved and will give their 100% effort and commitment when they are given a chance to contribute meaningfully. If you dictate terms without giving the members a chance to do so, it’ll only result in them doing their bit grudgingly and reluctantly.

Communicate freely

This must be the most overused word but ironically, the least understood! It essentially means building up an atmosphere where people can express their views freely and where information flows freely. Respect individual opinions and evaluate each idea on the merit of it, not on the merit of the personality of the presenter. This will prompt everyone to volunteer solutions and perspectives that will benefit the whole team. Let communication be a two-way process as it is meant to be. Give and receive feedback, and again, if criticism is called for-tackle ideas, not people!

Oil the ‘team’ engine

A team runs smoothly when there is harmony and a shared sense of camaraderie in the team. Sometimes the work pressure may get to the members and they many flare up with little cause. Handle any differences as soon as they crop up. Be the peacemaker and be ready to soothe ruffled feathers.

Highlight the ‘best interests’

People get involved when they understand why and how the goals and purposes are not only in the team’s best interests but also in their own best interests as individuals. Try to strike a balance between the team’s best interests and the individual’s best interests. It’s important that each person benefits personally from his or her efforts and at the same time contributes to the team effort

Respect diversity

The perfect team will never be composed of individuals who are all alike! An ideal team will be comprised of a group that works well together as a whole and at the same time allows each member to bring a different dynamic to the team environment. To balance this diversity is what building a team is all about!

Evaluate your team

Congrats! You managed to assemble your dream team and a couple of projects down the line, it’s now time to rate yourself on teamwork. On the face of it, your team appears to be a cohesive unit, but as with any other groups watch out for subtle undercurrents underlying each relationship. To find our how you fare as a team, here are a few parameters you can rate your team against.

Cohesion

Do all members feel part of the team, or is it just an elite few? Sometimes, sub-groups form within groups. Do all of your team members identify themselves with each other?

Security

How secure do individual members feel about being part of the team? Do they feel threatened and insecure or do they feel safe and secure.

Trust

What is the level of trust towards each other and towards the team leader? If team members harbour distrust towards any particular member, you need to find out why and address this rather delicate issue immediately.

Communication

Trust is essentially tied up with communication. Lack of trust is sometimes the direct fallout of lack of adequate communication. If there are clear channels of communication between individual members, there is bound to be a closer bond and subsequently greater levels of trust, which are essential for the team to function.

Involvement

Does every member involve himself or do certain members only keep to themselves. If only a few members dominate the team, then everyone’s capacities are not being put to optimum use. Sometimes, it may be necessary to draw out the more hesitant ones.

Peace

Is your team always caught in some conflict or the other? With the pressures of deadlines, overwork, frayed tempers are common. While conflicts are bound to arise, what is important is how they are resolved. Altercations can tear down the team spirit you tried so hard to build up. How conflicts are handled is a good indication of how long your team will last as a team!

Individuality

Does your team have only one collective face or does each member have the freedom to retain his / her individuality? A team that does not stifle individuality is one that will come up with creative solutions. Every member should be given the space to share an idea however wacky it may initially appear to be. This is the stuff activities like brainstorming are made up of!

Independence

Can your team work independently of you. Yes, a degree of control and leadership is essential for any team, but if the team is overly dependant on you for everything, then it’s bad news. A team shouldn’t fall apart if the team leader is not there to hold it together.

Crisis management

How does your team handle a crisis? Is it thrown into a panic or does everyone put their heads together to arrive at a solution? At stressful times like this, it’s very easy to point fingers at each other rather than trying to fix the problem. A mature team will put personalities aside and tackle issues!

Reign in that race horse

Your team has just landed a plum assignment and the general mood is upbeat. You’re busy allotting responsibilities and tasks. Everyone understands that the collective goal can be met only through individual participation from everyone. It’s important that the team’s morale is kept high throughout the project. Everything’s fine except for one thing that is undermining the confidence of the team considerably - there’s one team member who even before the word ‘Go’, is off like a shot, leaving the rest of the team far behind.

Yes, perhaps the others are also raring to go, but this one more so!

A few tips on holding his horses…

Getting off your high horse

Instead of sulking at the racehorse’s attitude, it’ll help if you take an honest look at your own pace. Perhaps he is right, enough of planning and preparation-you need to get going as well!

Getting feedback from others

Try talking to the others. This will give you a realistic picture of what pace the rest are comfortable with. Perhaps there are a few who have a starting problem, in which case, it’s your lookout as a team leader to ensure that the delay doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the racehorses and that their break neck speed doesn’t disorient the slow and steady tortoises.

Digging in your heels

Don’t let him set the pace. Be firm and stand your ground. Get your teams feedback and then set deadlines that everyone is comfortable about.

Hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth

Perhaps your colleague is not even aware of the chaos he’s causing and of the demoralising effect he’s having on the rest! Make him aware of the damage he’s causing to the other’s self-esteem that, albeit inadvertently. Once he realises that others cannot always keep up with him, he’s bound to slow down. A little sensitivity on his part will encourage the slowcoaches to hurry up!

Asking for his cooperation

Your colleague will have to be told that neighing and snorting with impatience at the ‘slowness’ of others will not work. Teamwork implies just that- working together as a team! Once he realises that in a team, the strengths of some complement the weaknesses of others, he will turn into an asset for the team. You’ll need to emphasise the importance of individual working styles as well- slow and steady is not necessarily equivalent to being a slow coach. For success in any endeavour, your team requires both the action-oriented racehorses, as well as the thought-oriented planning pundits!

Talking to the jockey

Despite your combined efforts, if you are still having a tough time trying to ensure that the team works together as an integrated whole, perhaps it’s time to talk to the boss. You could focus on the aspect of the project being enriched by everyone’s collective skills, rather than by one lone ranger’s contribution.

If all these manoeuvres don’t succeed in shortening his gait, nothing will!

Heading a directionless team

Who doesn’t enjoy heading a highly motivated, proactive, solution-oriented team that doesn’t require much supervision? Unfortunately, very rarely does this happen in real life. In all probability, you’re stuck with a bunch of demoralized, jaded and disgruntled employees who desperately need something to fire up their motivation. The challenge of getting this team on its feet is quite daunting, but is not a ‘mission impossible.’

A few principles to guide you through this metamorphosis-

Establish who is boss

Not in an autocratic and high-handed manner, but in a firm yet polite manner. It’s obvious that you’ll need to be the catalyst for change and it’s equally obvious that everyone will not be too keen on welcoming this change. Nevertheless, if you don’t change the status quo of the team, it will continue to slide downhill with each passing assignment. Your credibility as a leader depends on whether you can be the turnaround champion for your team.

Face issues head-on

Don’t pussy foot around any tough issues. Your no-nonsense, bold decision making might be just what is needed to salvage the situation. Listen to the concerns and reservations of the others and try to address them immediately. Nevertheless, don’t expect a unanimous vote in favor of any change you propose- go ahead anyway. As each step you take produces results, your credibility will begin to be established. Till then, your vision, confidence and your willingness to take risks are your main assets.

Steer the team

Your first responsibility is to provide a clear direction to the team. Drifting along without a clear course of action will only delay the process of re-building the team. You have to function as the captain as well as the navigator, at least till everyone gets their bearings. Convey your vision and mission in no uncertain terms, clarify doubts and guide your team towards the collective goal. Unless each member is instilled with a sense of purpose, the entire team will continue to wander away without any tangible progress.

Be bold

Heading out towards uncharted waters can be scary, but you’ll need to explore those frontiers if you want your team to go ahead. Be prepared to handle the fears and apprehensions of the team members. Getting out of the comfort zone is unsettling and you’ll probably not have many takers for this idea, but as the leader, the onus is upon you to motivate them to step out and conquer the hurdles- whether that of complacency, fear or whatever.

Remember your purpose

You can either be a ‘people-pleaser’ and win a lot of friends among the team and reach nowhere or be prepared to take steps that may not be popular but which are sure to yield results. There might be some who may not like your style of management, but you need to have the ability to stand firm against resistance (you can bet that there’s going to be plenty of it!) If your goal is to be the best-liked manger, then the mantle of leadership may not be for you.

Build interpersonal relationships

If your team is not pulling along in the right direction, the chances are that interpersonal conflicts are the reason behind it. You need to tackle this problem right away, without being judgmental about it. Get them involved in a fun project (say, organising a theme party to launch the re- oriented team or some social project.) the idea is to get people working on something other than work. When they realize that it is possible to work together as a team, it will make them a more cohesive unit than before. This advantage can then be applied to work situations as well.




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