How to Help Your Team Perform
Act as both a manager and a leader for the team., Set goals for the team., Use the power of delegation., Know what you want and say it., Empower each team member by giving them controlled discretion., Give credit where it is due.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Act as both a manager and a leader for the team.
You have to perform both the roles independently and in synergy so that you can use these roles as a catalyst for getting the best out of the team every time.
Approach each unique role as follows:
Leader:
As a leader it is in exhibiting your human qualities that you are accepted as a leader by the team.
Human values require the leader to have a sense of self, an ability to read the relationship dynamics clearly, and to see the relationship between the emotional, economic, and personal input to the organization.
Moreover, a leader needs to have the ability to feel separate from the organization in order to be able to see beyond the company's immediate needs and to focus on the team needs instead.
Here the order of preference is: the team member, the team, and then the organization.
Manager:
As a manager you have to get the performance out of the team as per the organization's objectives.
Here the order of preference is: the organization, team and the individual.
The balancing act:
As a team leader and manager, you need to perform both the roles efficiently, to be able to blend both leadership and management within the team context.
This will take practice
-- but it helps to treat team members as individuals all the time
-- while keeping your eye focused on the integral, common goal. -
Step 2: Set goals for the team.
Every team member has to understand the short and long term goals for the team.
They should also understand the path for fulfillment of the goals, the segments (breakdown) of the project, the deadlines, the processes and the procedures involved.
As team leader, you have the responsibility for ensuring that all of these things are clear to each member of the team.
You have to clarify goals and clear all the doubts at the time of goal setting, and to regularly check that the understandings continue to hold.
Devise a well known means for keeping track of progress toward intermediate and final goals and signaling, to everyone, the nearing of the various deadlines on work toward completion.
Clarify assumptions.
Remember to clarify all parties' assumptions, and set parameters as to the premise underpinning the work or project, its required format, any specific or general criteria, the timelines or stages, and so forth.
Often different assumptions can lead people to go off on different tracks, resulting in frustration and loss of buy-in, as well as loss of time and traction.
It is better to overspend time on clarifying conceptions than to ignore possible miss-perceptions. , Delegation of responsibility provides you with the time and energy to better manage the team and monitor their work regularly.
Non-delegation will lead to early burnout for you and marginalisation of the results (team members won't feel so responsible without delegation).
Some leaders make the mistake of thinking they are the only one with the big picture view and therefore are too afraid to delegate.
However, this is a dangerous way to think and will end up in less team cohesion and a worn out leader.
Consider your job situation and all its demands and pressures to get things done right.
Ask yourself how you can begin to delegate and empower others through the principle of completed staff work at every stage and segment.
Focus on each team member's strengths when delegating.
Give them just a bit more than what you know they're capable of, so that they have a challenge to strive for and will meet it because of your faith in their ability. , Establish a definite understanding of the desired results.
By stating openly and clearly about what is expected
-- with guidelines, documents, parameters, rules
-- you create a psychological contract of clear expectations between yourself and those you lead and supervise.
Answer team member's questions promptly.
When explaining things, do not see questions from the team as divisive or obstructive.
Questions are an excellent way of eliciting whether or not people have truly grasped what is expected of them and you can guide their understanding with your answers. , Help your team members to understand that they will be called upon to give their best thinking in solving problem-making decisions and when formulating recommendations.
Identify the criteria to be included in recommendations so that they know how much detail and original thinking is expected.
Opening up the thinking and solving processes gives team members freedom to wander within the parameters and to possibly find better solutions than the ones originally posited.
It will also help team members to feel empowered and not merely contributing within a narrowly defined area.
Ask questions.
As part of empowering the team, ask your team members for their input and ideas.
Ask them such things as: "What is your recommendation? How would you solve this problem?" or "How would you implement this policy?" Get into the habit of soliciting ideas at all stages of a project and be attentive to their responses.
Obviously, not all the ideas will fly and not everything they suggest will be credible but a willingness to listen with an open-mind will ensure that team members feel valued. , Give credit and recognition to others for their contributions and do this regularly rather than holding back until the very end (or there may be no "end" until the employee gets up and leaves without forewarning).
Don't risk having your team members see you as exploiting them for your own recognition or benefit by letting your superiors think that all the ideas and best thinking came from you.
Acknowledge team members' contributions openly within the team and openly to others within the company, especially in front of those team members. -
Step 3: Use the power of delegation.
-
Step 4: Know what you want and say it.
-
Step 5: Empower each team member by giving them controlled discretion.
-
Step 6: Give credit where it is due.
Detailed Guide
You have to perform both the roles independently and in synergy so that you can use these roles as a catalyst for getting the best out of the team every time.
Approach each unique role as follows:
Leader:
As a leader it is in exhibiting your human qualities that you are accepted as a leader by the team.
Human values require the leader to have a sense of self, an ability to read the relationship dynamics clearly, and to see the relationship between the emotional, economic, and personal input to the organization.
Moreover, a leader needs to have the ability to feel separate from the organization in order to be able to see beyond the company's immediate needs and to focus on the team needs instead.
Here the order of preference is: the team member, the team, and then the organization.
Manager:
As a manager you have to get the performance out of the team as per the organization's objectives.
Here the order of preference is: the organization, team and the individual.
The balancing act:
As a team leader and manager, you need to perform both the roles efficiently, to be able to blend both leadership and management within the team context.
This will take practice
-- but it helps to treat team members as individuals all the time
-- while keeping your eye focused on the integral, common goal.
Every team member has to understand the short and long term goals for the team.
They should also understand the path for fulfillment of the goals, the segments (breakdown) of the project, the deadlines, the processes and the procedures involved.
As team leader, you have the responsibility for ensuring that all of these things are clear to each member of the team.
You have to clarify goals and clear all the doubts at the time of goal setting, and to regularly check that the understandings continue to hold.
Devise a well known means for keeping track of progress toward intermediate and final goals and signaling, to everyone, the nearing of the various deadlines on work toward completion.
Clarify assumptions.
Remember to clarify all parties' assumptions, and set parameters as to the premise underpinning the work or project, its required format, any specific or general criteria, the timelines or stages, and so forth.
Often different assumptions can lead people to go off on different tracks, resulting in frustration and loss of buy-in, as well as loss of time and traction.
It is better to overspend time on clarifying conceptions than to ignore possible miss-perceptions. , Delegation of responsibility provides you with the time and energy to better manage the team and monitor their work regularly.
Non-delegation will lead to early burnout for you and marginalisation of the results (team members won't feel so responsible without delegation).
Some leaders make the mistake of thinking they are the only one with the big picture view and therefore are too afraid to delegate.
However, this is a dangerous way to think and will end up in less team cohesion and a worn out leader.
Consider your job situation and all its demands and pressures to get things done right.
Ask yourself how you can begin to delegate and empower others through the principle of completed staff work at every stage and segment.
Focus on each team member's strengths when delegating.
Give them just a bit more than what you know they're capable of, so that they have a challenge to strive for and will meet it because of your faith in their ability. , Establish a definite understanding of the desired results.
By stating openly and clearly about what is expected
-- with guidelines, documents, parameters, rules
-- you create a psychological contract of clear expectations between yourself and those you lead and supervise.
Answer team member's questions promptly.
When explaining things, do not see questions from the team as divisive or obstructive.
Questions are an excellent way of eliciting whether or not people have truly grasped what is expected of them and you can guide their understanding with your answers. , Help your team members to understand that they will be called upon to give their best thinking in solving problem-making decisions and when formulating recommendations.
Identify the criteria to be included in recommendations so that they know how much detail and original thinking is expected.
Opening up the thinking and solving processes gives team members freedom to wander within the parameters and to possibly find better solutions than the ones originally posited.
It will also help team members to feel empowered and not merely contributing within a narrowly defined area.
Ask questions.
As part of empowering the team, ask your team members for their input and ideas.
Ask them such things as: "What is your recommendation? How would you solve this problem?" or "How would you implement this policy?" Get into the habit of soliciting ideas at all stages of a project and be attentive to their responses.
Obviously, not all the ideas will fly and not everything they suggest will be credible but a willingness to listen with an open-mind will ensure that team members feel valued. , Give credit and recognition to others for their contributions and do this regularly rather than holding back until the very end (or there may be no "end" until the employee gets up and leaves without forewarning).
Don't risk having your team members see you as exploiting them for your own recognition or benefit by letting your superiors think that all the ideas and best thinking came from you.
Acknowledge team members' contributions openly within the team and openly to others within the company, especially in front of those team members.
About the Author
Justin Lopez
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: