5 Proven Tips to Help Your Team Win

Mike Hough is high impact CEO who is growing his company and the 6,000+ people in it! If you want to see a great example of the type of high impact leader I write about and speak about, be sure to check out his episode in the "Real People Getting Real Results!" series.

5 Proven Tips to Help Your Team Win

1.? Lead the team when necessary.

It’s the leader’s responsibility to chart the course. If you are not seeing movement or the movement is in the wrong direction, you must either create movement or make a course correction. I don’t mean you take over and start barking orders. That’s not leading (influencing). That’s managing (directing).

Remember, we lead people, and we manage stuff (things and processes). Ask the right questions until they see what you see or until you see what they see. Once everyone is aligned and back on track, get out of the way.

“Progress is always preceded by change. Change is always preceded by challenge. Where there is no challenge there is no change. It’s the job of the leader to challenge the process.” ~ Andy Stanley

2.? Get out of the team’s way when necessary.

If the team is on track moving in the right direction, they don’t need you out front. You’ll only be a distraction. Distractions slow a team down. If they’ve got it, let them have it. Get out of the way and lead.

If you must do something, consider the following tips. Don’t put yourself out front unless it’s necessary. You have more important things to do than lead the train down the track.

“Superior leadership is often a matter of superb instinct.” ~ General Colin Powell

3.? Follow the team when necessary.

If you want to boost a team’s confidence, follow them. In other words, you let them lead you. You may have heard the old saying, “The best leaders also make the best followers.” This is the application of that principle. When the team hears and sees you agreeing with their suggestions, you are reinforcing their decision-making abilities.

They need to feel your belief that they are on the right track. Nothing says this more clearly than when the leader is following the team.

“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

4.? Clear the team’s path when necessary.

The team will encounter obstacles. Some they can clear without much effort. Let them do it. But, if they get hung up, get out front and help them remove the obstacles.

When leading teams in organizations as a consultant, this is one of the things I request from top leaders. I let them know up front, “I’m counting on you to remove any obstacles we encounter that are too difficult or time consuming for us to spend time and energy on.” Many times for a top level leader to remove an obstacle for us, all we need is a signature or an approval to move forward.

“A true friend doesn’t just warn you about a stone in your path that may cause you to fall, they do their best to keep you from falling. If that is not possible, they are there to help you back up.” ~ Denis G. McLaughlin

5.? Help the team when necessary.

When your team needs help, help them. Don’t let them learn the hard way if you know the easy way. That doesn’t build trust. It creates distrust. Helping is a very effective way to strengthen relationships by building trust.

I remember a 5S (standardization and organization) event I was leading once in a facility. At the time, I was the Lean/Process Improvement Manager there. We were conducting a week-long event in an area that required a lot of painting. Four days into the five day event, it was obvious there wouldn’t be enough time for the team to complete the project due to getting the paint late on the final work day of the event. I decided to help.

After they left for the day, around 5pm, I started painting by myself and didn’t quit until the next morning when they all came back in at 7am. I helped them make it happen for 14 hours overnight without being asked or told to do so. The result: They finished the event on time, and my influence with them and the rest of the associates in the facility increased significantly. As their leader, I?helped the team get results because it was necessary.

“Leadership is a choice you make, not a place you sit.” ~ John C. Maxwell

Like what you just read?

It's an excerpt from Chapter 9; "10 Values of High Impact Leaders"

(Note: There are 5 more proven ways to help your team win in the book, for a total of 10.)

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Mack Story spent many years in the blue-collar workforce, starting his career working as a front line machine shop operator. Later in his career, he logged over 11,000 hours leading hundreds of leaders and their teams through process improvement, leadership development, organizational change, and cultural transformation, both as an employee and as an independent consultant.

Ria Story started her career working as a waitress while earning her GED and going to community college at night. She pursued a career in the healthcare industry, eventually earning her MBA and serving as the Director of Corporate Compliance for a hospital. She now has over 20 years of experience in leadership and management.