140 / LEADING THROUGH CHALLENGES
Energizing the team
Choosing your team
Selecting team members who will work together
well, motivating the group, and dealing with conflict
are the essential aspects of team leadership. And as
increasing amounts of work are project-based, you
need to develop team cohesion and focus quickly
despite rapid changes in the mix of the team.
Invest time at the start of a project to choose
or strengthen the team; your investment will be
repaid later in the project cycle when the group
comes under pressure. Select team members with
complementary skills and talents that come into play
at different stages of a project. As a minimum, your
team should have a good mix of the following thinking
styles listed below. If the team is small, members
may need to be able to fill more than one of the roles.
When you put together a group of people—anywhere between two and
several thousand—you won’t automatically get a team. For a group to
become a team, it must be energized and focused and it must think of
success as a collective rather than individual aim. Carrying out this
transformation is your job as a leader.
The leader—ensures everyone understands the objectives;
motivates and communicates.
The creator—an imaginative thinker who has bold concepts at
the outset of a project and provides ideas when the team is stuck.
The analyst—the problem-solver who tests the plan at every stage.
The facilitator—has good interpersonal skills, is sensitive to
the group dynamic, and acts as the “glue” in a team.
The administrator—pays attention to details
and keeps the team on time and focused on the task.
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ENERGIZING THE TEAM / 141
BE INCLUSIVE
Welcome newcomers to the
team and encourage them to
speak at meetings and engage
with the group from an early
stage. Don’t allow new recruits
to become accustomed to
a backseat role.
Tip
Leader
Creator
Analyst
Facilitator
Administrator
The administrator—pays attention to details
and keeps the team on time and focused on the task.
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142 / LEADING THROUGH CHALLENGES
Running your team
Make clear the roles that each individual
will play in the team. Devolve decision-
making to the group as far as possible,
and encourage everyone to participate in
decisions—this will share the ownership
of goals. Set out shared values, develop
ground rules that describe how the team
will work together from the start, and
watch the way that group dynamics
develop; take action immediately at the
first sign of conflict or if an individual
starts to act in a way not consistent with
the agreed team rules.
Sharing
Getting
results
Listening
Showing
commitment
Showing interest
Building trust
Giving
recognition
When you build and manage
your team successfully,
group members will hold
one another accountable
for achieving individual tasks,
and begin to appreciate
collective success
The signs of an energized team
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ENERGIZING THE TEAM / 143
Giving
recognition
Taking risks
Being trusting,
honest, and open
Innovating
Collaborating
Supporting one another
Giving constructive
feedback
61%
Building trust
Be supportive, give credit for good
cooperative work and knowledge shared,
and always promote and celebrate
team achievements.
When you build and manage your
team successfully, group members will
start to hold one another accountable
for achieving individual tasks, and begin
to appreciate and share in collective
success. Trust will build gradually
as each member commits to actions
at team meetings and carries them
out as promised.
of employees who have
an input in decisions
are engaged at work
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