Just because people work in the same department or on the same project doesn’t automatically mean they’re a team – they may merely be a group, and groups seldom achieve great things. Imagine if members of a sports team didn’t compensate for each other’s weaknesses, didn’t have a common strategy known to everyone and didn’t really want to play together. It’s easy to predict the results they would produce.
Even in individual games like tennis, golf and athletics, teams form: not only doubles partnerships, foursomes and relay teams but whole groups of golfers, tennis players or athletes, competing under the same banner for prestigious international trophies. Cricket, highly individualistic, is also played in teams – but nobody doubts that the sum of a good team in any sport is greater than its parts. So is it any wonder why some departments or groups just don’t achieve the desired results?
Leadership
While team-building training and tools can help groups learn to become a team and work together to produce breakthrough results, one critical factor to the ongoing success of a team is the presence of a strong leader. A team needs someone who can create an open and energising environment where people can come together, understand a clear set of goals and objectives, and then deliver.
Success
It doesn’t matter whether your business is finance, media, oil or technology; the principals of leadership and teamwork are the same. Here are some ways you can step up to the challenge and help lead your team to success:
Strong leadership
Ensure you are (or have) a strong team leader. You want someone who is not only intelligent but who is the right fit for the culture. For example, at GE, a willingness to learn (and a small ego) are key factors in identifying potentially strong leaders. You want someone who is able to articulate their ideas clearly and work across a number of different areas within the organisation. If you recruit the right person in the right role for the right reasons, then not only are they more likely to do an excellent job but you are also more likely to retain them.
Set goals
Make sure your team has a challenging goal to achieve and that all team members understand it and are committed to it. In addition to the team goals make sure all the individual team members know exactly what their role is and what is expected of them.
Learning
Provide the necessary training to master the skills needed to reach the goal. You want the team and the individuals to build, develop and grow, whether that be through formal training or by taking on new tasks within the team which challenge their ability.
Focus
Stay the course even when things are tough. Keep everyone’s eyes on the ball. It’s very easy to become distracted by unexpected issues and be taken off course. Stay focused; this doesn’t mean not responding to changing circumstances but never forget what your original goal was.
Conflict resolution
Resolve conflict before it distracts people and splits the team. It is very easy for small issues to develop out of proportion and result in disharmony to the team that can be difficult to repair.
Measurement
Measure the team’s progress and make the score known to all. Set short and medium-term deadlines and stick to them. If the project is set to last a number of months, it is a good idea to put some milestones in place to motivate the team.
Inclusiveness
Ask your team members for their input and find out what they need to enable them to achieve the objective. Make sure you have a forum for opinions to be shared and discussed. A good leader should be able to listen and respect the opinions of others. Encourage diversity of work styles within a shared dedication to the goal. Take the opportunity of embracing new styles of working.
Coach
As a coach you should motivate and guide but not hold players’ hands. Fast failure and letting people learn from mistakes can be a great way of developing people within a team.
Reward
Celebrate small wins along the way until you achieve the big one. Make sure all the team is included but don’t shy away from recognising individuals if they have made a special contribution.
Recognition
Give recognition to both efforts and accomplishments; keep everyone motivated. Don’t just keep the recognition within the team but take it out to a wider group and make sure that key people within the business are aware of efforts that have been made.
Steer to success
In a good team, great things can be achieved and everybody wins. Differing views come forward and good leaders, with the right experience, are able to motivate, coach and steer the team to success. The sum of any team is greater than the value of the individuals and being able to bring this all together is what makes the difference between a good and a great leader.
Bruno Heese is commercial and business development leader at GE Money Home Lending
