Building and Leading Teams

 Proof of your ability and success as a leader is when your team members say “we did it ourselves.”  Leadership is a team effort.  This includes giving power away and trusting that your team will make you look good.

 “The very highest leader is barely known by men. Then comes the leader they know and love. Then the leader they fear. Then the leader they despise. The leader who does not trust enough will not be trusted. When actions are performed without necessary speech, they people say, ‘We did it ourselves.’”- Lao Tsu

Successful organizations  Have leaders who know how to assemble, empower, and draw from the strengths of their teams.  They achieve results through motivating and inspiring a winning team;  They build a work environment where collaboration and continuous improvement are encouraged and where individuals collectively achieve their greatest potential;  They provide team members ongoing opportunities that build loyalty and commitment to common goals and energize workers to seek and implement solutions on their own.

Eight Highly Effective Practices for Building a Team  Practice #1: Select and hire the best players for your team. Look for players who share your passion for the project and have the ambition to follow through.  Practice #2: Ask for and expect feedback from team members. The key to productivity will be in how well you communicate the goals of the team and how often you exchange information with team members. Be specific about what you expect the team to accomplish.

 Practice #3: Ask for and expect feedback from team members. Listen to what your team has to say and respond to their input in a reasonable amount of time.  Practice #4: Commit yourself to delegating decision making to the team. Don’t make decisions for the team or restrict them to one decision maker. Push decisions down the line. Involve all team members and let the responsible decide how the job will get done.

 Practice #5: Care about your people. Team members who know that their leader has their best interest at heart. These members will want to work harder.  Practice #6: Provide the tool and resources needed for success. Set your team up for success. Give team members the tool and resources they need to get the job done right the first time.

 Practice #7: Coach team players at their own levels. Leaders can’t afford to misjudge the level of competence inn their team players. Take time to evaluate at what level each team member ranks.  Practice #8: Promote your team’s spirit and energy. Establish group identity. It gives them a sense of pride. Build group morale. Instill a feeling a being special.

ACTIVITY

Worksheet: How will I Lead My Team  For each of the eight practices necessary for building your team, describe the specific actions you will take on the job.

1. This is how I plan to gather the most talented people for my team: 2. This is how I will communicate openly and honestly with my team members: 3. Here are ways I will listen to my team members and ask for their feedback: 4. Here are ways I will delegate decision making to my teams:

5. This is how I’ll show that I care about my team and will always keep their best interest at heart: 6. Here’s how I plan to go about providing the tools and resources necessary for my team’s success:

7. These are the ways I will coach each team member at his or her own level: - Team members who have the potential to succeed, but don’t know what to do and how to do it: - Team members who need coaching: -Team members who require support: -Team members to whom I can delegate:

8. This is how I will promote motivation among my team members:

Team Types and Their Unique Functions

High-performing and self- directed teams:  A high-performing or self-directed team does not have a manager supervising it. The team is responsible and accountable for everything the members are charged with doing. When such teams are in place and working well, they can provide great results for any organization.

Functional and cross- functional teams:  A functional team comprises a group of employees that work together in one department and is responsible for generating some output and improving functional processes in that department.  Cross-functional teams come together from different departments in the organization in an effort to share information that will improve overall functions and processes.

Senior executive teams:  Such teams comprise the CEO, president, and senior-level executives.  They function as leadership groups that set organizational direction and goals and create mission and vision statements.

Middle Management Teams:  These teams bring together managers from different departments within the organization, including the director who heads them up.  They help ensure consistency among the workers who make up their departments and are responsible for disseminating new policies and sharing information.

Retooling Teams or Process Improvement Teams:  These teams are temporary and are charged with the responsibilities of reorganization, reengineering, or developing new processes to replace old ones.  They often are cross-functional in nature because their efforts effect many different departments or divisions within the organization.

Project Teams:  Established on a temporary basis, they may be functional or cross-functional.  These teams bring together all of the specialty areas within an organization that are equipped to plan and execute a variety of special projects.  Their efforts may be targeted toward the organization itself or toward its customers.

New Product Design Teams:  These teams pull together a range of workers within the organization who will be involved in the design, development, manufacturing, and rollout of any new product or service.  They may be temporary or permanent, and their goal is seamless delivery of new projects and services.

Virtual Teams:  These teammates can be spread out across the planet, connecting in cyberspace and sometimes never meeting or talking face-to-face with other team members or leaders.  Virtual teams may be permanent or temporary, and they take on a variety of projects at all levels.