Team development strategies
Trust is the foundation of leadership. Any winning team has worked and established trust towards each other and the teams' ability to accomplish results. Your result as a leader is in direct proportion to your skills in creating strong, collaborating teams:
To illustrate the power of teamwork in a five-member team:
10+ 10+ 10+ 10+ 10 = 50 (Not working together)
10* 10* 10* 10* 10 = 100 000 (Working together)
You will go from an additive to a multiplicative team, and the difference is huge. Studies have shown that a team's ability to solve complex problems increases with openness and trust in a group.
This is especially essential when It comes to putting together and developing your management team.
There are numerous ways you can develop a strong management team, and here are some tips.
Do a check-in
Introduce a check-in at some meetings where everyone can talk for 5-10 min about basically anything (personal life, work, expectations, how is everything working out for you, etc.)
This enables each and everyone to feel listened and also allows everyone to get a better understanding of where specific behaviors are coming from.
The power of Why
Are you building a brick wall, or are you making a cathedral? It is essential to explain why to the team members.
A leader is the one how sees things in the future before others do. That is why they are the leaders. They paint a brighter future for each and everyone once the team reaches the destination.
The leaders make everyone committed and generate the common understanding that if the team wins, everybody wins.
Invest time and money in teambuilding
If you are new in building teams, I recommend you hire a coach. As the leader, you need to introduce guidance and direction, and the person you are hiring can provide the tools. However, it is not possible to let someone else totally develop your team. You still have to lead them and give direction, but a team building coach can help you along the way.
Practice your visionary leadership
Visionary leadership is often the most effective one. Taking people to a place where they haven't been before, and helping them to be part of something larger than themselves is very fulfilling.
Aim for the stars, and you will at least end up at the treetops. However, if the team is unwilling to pay the price, the team will lose.
How the leader's emotions affects the team
The emotions of the leader affect the rest of the team and how they feel. The leader is the team's emotional guide. It can affect team spirit and morale.
You can choose to be in a positive mode more than in a negative one. However, if you are too optimistic, no one will take you seriously.
The number one reason for conflicts in an organization is that their leaders express criticism towards different stakeholders.
Be aware of the amplifying effect that your emotions can have on the team if you are the leader. That is why it is best to show different emotions, as long as you aren't overdoing it.
You can be tough and demanding as long as the team members know that you have their best interests.
"People don't care what you know until they know how much you care."
Use humor and see your team excel.
The shortest distance between two people is laughter. Humor and a pleasant atmosphere increases collaboration and generates a better result.
The most significant difference between high and low-performing CEOs was that the top performers were using humor more often.
Use your emotional intelligence (EQ)
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is as essential as being in the right mode as a leader
A leader that is in resonance with his coworkers can put himself in their shoes. To be able to do that, you need to be present and practice active listening.
Emotions are what people can relate to the most. They will not necessarily remember everything you say to them, but what they most likely will remember is their emotions the experienced during your conversations together.
You can use this to your advantage as a leader. Use metaphors and stories that convey a message together with emotions.
Have the right members on the team
If there are members in your management that are not contributing to the team result, they need to change, or they have to go.
Here are some questions you can ask if you have a team member that is not contributing:
Is the weak link out of their comfort zone? How can you create a comfort zone for them?
Is the weak link in the wrong position?
Has the weak link not understood its role?
Has the weak link not the right competence for the job?
In the end, you have to remember that they are responsible for their development. You can only ignite their fire.
The person not contributing to the team result could also be a high performing individual.
Then you will have to use different tactics.
It is like when Michael Jordan (great basketball player) was put on the bench, and he came up to the coach and asked:
"I am the best player on the team, why do I have to sit on the bench."
The coach responded:
"Yes, you are the best player on the team, but don't make the team better."
That was when Michael understood that he needed to make the team better to become and win more.
Establish a servanthood leadership.
The best leaders put their team members before themselves. They know that the team's results will always be better than their own.
"One is too small of a number to achieve greatness."
The focused servant leader eats last and helps others to succeed before they rest.
Chinese proverb
If you want happiness for
One h – take a nap
One day- Go fishing
One month- Marry
One year- inherit a fortune
Establish a growth mindset
Let the group understand that the result for everyone as individuals is dependent on the growth of the team. Therefore everyone needs to develop and contribute to the teams' growth.
If you are number one, you should work as if you were number two.
Work with values
Have the team understand and work according to the team and the corporate values. If you value your DNA, it won't make a difference if one or two players quit or are replaced by others. The values will remain because they are deeply imprinted in the others.
With strong values, the feeling of "This is the way we do things around here" will also be solid.
Live your values
Leadership is visual. You cannot expect coworkers to cooperate if the management team cannot assist. People do what people see.
For you to be congruent (Walk the talk), you have to do precisely that and walk the talk. If you say that it is essential to be on time, you are the first to show up. If you say that it is vital to help others, you are the one who can reach a helping hand.
Give each other feedback.
Feedback and self-reflection are the foundation for learning. To have an open and trustful environment will foster an influential feedback culture.
One vigorous exercise you can do is having the group talk about what is talkable, what is nearly talkable, and what is not talkable in the group. The trick is by talking about what's not talkable; it will become talkable if you understand what I mean.
Create a feeling of belonging
In high performing sports clubs, the feeling of belonging is solid. From the club owner down to the janitor, everyone has the clubs' best interests in mind. When you interview people that belong in a high performing team, they might things like:
Instead of unity, we say community. We accept differences and different opinions because we agree that we value each other. We want the best ides to come forward.
Get to know the teams' different colors.
We are all different when it comes to personalities. Assess to see your team colleges' strengths and blind spots. Have the team apperceive and focus on each other strengths rather than one other shortcoming.
Various assessments can be used. One famous is the DISC model.
Do something fun together.
Do something with the team outside of work and get to know each other more. Learn more about the person and what their interests are. The cooperation will increase.
Here you can do everything from cocking, going on a sailboat, bowling, etc. You understand what I mean.
Work on building trust, and you will see amazing results.
Your friend
Thomas