Posts made in November, 2008
Under sell, over deliver
It’s amazing what we will say to get people to do what we want. Whether it be to win a sale from a new client, convince our boss that our latest bright idea is worth everybody’s time, or to just convince members of your team that this new project or methodology is really exciting, we have a tendency to exaggerate. But this can cause more of a headache than simply an interesting moral dilemma.
Don’t promise the Earth
Promising the Earth, in under six days, is easy. With the right people skills and experience it’s possible to sell any product or idea to just about anybody. The short term gains are obvious; you win the sale, your great idea goes into production, your team get really excited and motivated. But your exaggeration, or slight stretch of the truth, will become obvious pretty quickly.
The damage this causes can be long lasting or even irreversible. If you company gains a reputation for under estimating time scales on projects it will soon start to count against you. If you have exaggerated the potential benefits of your new structure or methodology, your next idea will not be so easily received. If you have told your team that this next project is earth shatteringly exciting and it turns out to be the same old dirge, you will have a problem motivating them in future.
The element of suprise
The positives of doing the reverse are massive. To surprise your new client by delivering a little early or providing an extra little feature can make the difference between them giving you those all important repeat sales. To be known as an individual who takes the extra care to double, triple check everything before it goes higher up the food chain can be the difference when that coveted promotion comes up. You get the idea.
It’s a very simple lesson really, but one which we so often ignore. If we over sell something; a product or our own skill set, we are digging ourselves a big hole. You create disappointment and negativity that had no reason to be there. What you provide might be just what’s needed but because it’s less that you promised it will not be as well received. Whereas if we under sell what we are providing, the positive impact of the delivery far outweigh what was delivered on its merits alone.
It’s a difficult balance to get. If you under sell too much, then nobody will want you. But that said; under sell, over deliver, is a good little motto to live by.
Read MoreManagement: productively unproductive
Confidence plays a major part in leading a team. I’m not talking about a blind arrogance that assumes that you are always right but instead a confidence that leads you to feel that you do not have to constantly prove yourself. A Manager serving his owns needs is not much use to the team they are supposed to be leading.
We’ve all been there at some point. You’ve just completed a fantastic piece of work or have come up with a great idea only for your manager to do all they can to take more than their slice of the credit. Such behavior de-motivates team members and leads to an unhappy and unproductive team.Â
Measuring the un-measurable
I can understand why even the most self aware, confident managers can slip into this behavior. A need to justify your existence stems from that fact that mangers don’t really produce anything anymore. Their success or failure is not something that is easy to measure tangibly. Even those managers who are still involved in the practical side of their area of expertise are often distracted by other duties and so when an opportunity comes up to prove that they are still worth the salary the temptation is to milk it.
Such behavior, can, cause irreparable damage to the relationship between manager and team and ultimately the team will underperform; eventually falling apart. But team leaders are human just like everybody else. They need to feel of value and that they are a useful part of the whole or they quickly become de-motivated too. So how do we resolve the conflict?
Becoming self aware
A team leader needs to be aware of what their role is and how they should measure their success. Often managers are promoted, not because of their ability to manage but because they top of their field. This can mean that an organization not only loses their best people from the shop floor but also gain some bad leaders into the bargin, but that is a subject for another time.
Essentially, a team leaders job is to make everybody else look good. A good manager is able to create an environment where those in their team are able to grow and develop, bringing the most from whatever skills and talents they have. A manager who is more interested in making stars out of the individuals in their team rather than themselves, is much better placed to get the most out of those around them and in their charge.
For this to happen it’s important that a manager firstly understands what their role is, secondly understand that their success should now be measured, fundamentally, on other peoples performance, and finally that they are secure in their position; not worrying about how they look or needing to prove themselves.
Read MoreLike breeds like…
If you have ever wondered why your team is what it is, then it is possible that you should look no further. Just like children often pick up traits, characteristics, and mannerisms of their parents, and “best friends” will find that they think and behave alike, teams will often take on the personality and ethos of their leader.
This is obviously a big generalisation but it is very useful to remember if you are in leadership of some form. The team leader sets the culture of team as a whole. If the dominate characteristic of the team leader is that they are competitive, then do no be surprised if you end up with a team that is guarded about their knowledge and skills and individuals are more interested in proving themselves than cooperating for the greater good. If the team lead is a joker then expect a “playful” environment in the team. If the team lead is reserved and quite…. You get the idea.
The point is that if you not happy about a particular part of your teams culture then the first place to look is at yourself! Your personality; your ethos, will be imprinted on the teams that you lead. This is also worth remembering, if you are a new leader of an established team and wonder why things are as they are. Finding out a little about your predecessor might be a useful exercise in understanding what might be involved in taking your team forward.
The ‘Super Hero’ Legacy
I found a good example of this in a previous post. The lead of the team I was in had set themselves up as something of a superhero. Everything they did was correct, every solution was as elegant and effeiciate as it could possibly be. And, of course, mixed in with the perfect amount of flair. They never had a question, they never had a doubt, they always had an answer. The end result was a team who were afraid to ask questions for fear of looking foolish and not appearing good enough to be a part of the super heros team. Team members were not very good at sharing experience and knowledge as the assumption was that eveybody already had the knowledge, else, how would they possible be in this “super team”.
This culture had been set as an unconscience response and reacation to the personality and ethos of the team lead. This was important to understand if any atempt to change this culture could be successful.
If you want to develop an area of your teams life then the first place to look is how you operate as an individual. There is no point in expecting an open working environment, with the free sharing and exchange of ideas, if you are less than transparent in what you do yourself.Â
A major part of the role of a team leader is to set the culture of team. This is done not only by what you say, not even only by want you do, but also, who you are.
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