Posts made in May, 2009

Make a path together

Posted by Rob Borley on May 11, 2009 in leadership, team | 3 comments

Working with a team can be hard work. It’s made even more difficult when you are not all pulling in the same direction. This is true whether you are running a small project team or a whole organisation.

You have two real approaches available to you. The first to to push on with your wonderful plans and try and take people with you whether they like it or not. The second is to work with your team to formulate your plan and, as far as is possible, take them all with you as you go.

The problem with the first option is that while you may get to run your team exactly as you’d prefer you do run the risk that the members of the team will be less than committed to the cause. In a worse case scenario they could be disruptive or even disappear all together.

Taking your team with you; allowing all involved to feel like they own the plan is by far the best approach. There are a number of ways to help facilitate this process.

Communicate

Open and honest communication is key. Be clear and transparent with all members of your team about what you are trying to achieve and by when. Also make it clear, right from the start, what restrictions there are in formulating the way forward and why these restrictions are in place.

There may be a tool that has to be used. Or hoop that needs to be jumped through. Make the team aware of these restrictions.

Listen

Whether you have a clear idea or not about the way ahead, seek the opinions of your team members. Allow them to be a part of the planning process and formulate  a plan that can be owned by the individuals in your team. Other people will think of things that you have missed and others will be more skilled in some areas that you are. Good leadership is about knowing when to take advice and not to be afraid of the areas where you are not as strong as others around you.

Use the individuals at your disposal to asses the risks to your plans. The different perspectives are essential in predicting the future problems that your team will face. If you can predict issues early, you can prevent them.

Playing to your strengths

By drawing on the skills and experience of your team members you are not only more likely to come up with a better, more thought through and thorough plan but you are also more likely to have a team who is more committed to it.

If people own the process they will work harder in an attempt to make it succeed.