7 Leadership principles for developing a high performance team!

I am sharing the leadership principles that have guided me in bringing the best out of my team members in the past 11 years of leading teams. My experience with team building and management is in the context of high skilled teams in business management, strategy consulting and capability building. While the principles shared are universal in nature, their relative significance could vary with context.

#1. Add value to earn your team’s respect

I moved from management consulting at KPMG to a buying head role in Books category at Flipkart. I inherited a team of experienced Books buyers who had built strong relationship with publishers and scaled up the business. As I took charge, apart from the business goals, a formidable challenge was to earn the respect of the team. I was honest with the team that I was new to ecommerce and was looking forward to learn from them. I leaned on my strengths and saw an opportunity to structure the way things were being done by creating processes and building a governance structure to streamline execution. I brought a method to the madness that is inevitable while scaling the business at rapid pace. In a span of 6 months, the team saw a significant shift in time spent by them from operational tasks and firefighting towards portfolio strategy and structured problem solving. Effective utilization of my team’s time was a clear value add that helped me earn my team’s respect.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the ways a leader can add value:

• Knowledge (in domain or function) – a leader can add value by virtue of her experience and superior knowledge in a domain (eg. FMCG) or function (eg. Finance)
• Opportunities (for learning and growth) – a leader can facilitate learning and growth by exposing her team to various kinds of problem statements or by enabling them to participate in industry events, conferences and trade shows
• Scalability (through structure, process & systems) – a leader who comes from a mature organization to a startup would be able to contribute to scalability by building an effective structure, sustainable processes and reliable systems
• Network (of relationships) – a leader who comes from client side organization may be able to bring a valuable network of potential client leads and relationships. A leader with strong management relationships can weigh in on key decisions required by the team

A leader should have clarity on how they will add value to each team member and set clear expectations so that the team knows when to step up and when to reach out.

#2. Be true to your word and have your team’s back to win their trust

Many leaders feel that they need to epitomize strength and any sign of vulnerability would dent their credibility. On the contrary, a leader who is honest and willing to open up about their vulnerabilities is more likely to be trusted by their team.

Trust is a two-way street and a time-tested way to get another person to trust you is by reposing your faith in the person first. Exposing your vulnerabilities is a way of affirming your trust in your team. Being honest and transparent in your communication is another way to demonstrate your trust.

While you can build trust with an open and honest approach, trust is cemented by having the team’s back when they need you.

As a consultant, I used to do many late nights and then catch early morning flights the next day. I prided myself on being dependable in any situation. On one occasion, I slept very late and I was so tired that I didn’t hear either my alarm or the many calls from my manager. When I woke up, I felt like I was in a bad dream and could not believe that I had overslept and let my team down. I called my manager frantically expecting a well-deserved blasting. He was calm, asked me to take the next flight to my destination and attend the scheduled client meeting albeit 3 hours late. I did as instructed and kept waiting for the occasion when my manager would rebuke me. Finally I could not bear the anticipation, sought him out and apologized profusely. He just told me that he understands that I had a bad day and that it happens to the best of us. I was stunned by his response and in that moment, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and loyalty towards my manager who had my back when my chips were down.

#3. Nurture your team’s strengths

The jury is out on whether a leader should focus on her team’s strengths or help them develop their weaknesses. I believe that the better a person performs, the happier they feel and the higher their confidence and energy level. Focusing on strengths and mapping a role that leverages the person’s strengths will help them perform better and provide them with the ammunition they need to overcome their weaknesses.

A hot-tempered person can better control her temper when she’s high on positive energy. A mild-mannered person can better assert herself when she’s high on confidence. A person with strong points of view is more likely to listen to other’s perspectives when she is feeling happy.

When I was leading TV category, I had to manage different kinds of accounts – large professionally-managed brands, aggressive upstarts and mid-sized family-managed brands. Each of these accounts required a different management style. While the large professional brands required a structured & thoughtful approach, the aggressive startups required a nimble & pragmatic approach and the family-managed brands required a relationship based approach. I rejigged the business development team to match people with accounts to align their strengths with the account management competency required. This decision helped set the foundation for exponential growth in the business.

Nurturing your team’s strengths will help them overcome their weak spots.

#4. Set great expectations and nourish your team’s confidence

Leaders use either of the following styles for performance management:

• Style A - Set a high performance bar and consciously refrain from sharing compliments so as not to let the bar down. The downside here is that the team may not feel valued and may not be able to sustain their drive.
• Style B - Build team’s confidence by appreciating them on a regular basis. The downside here is that the team may become complacent with sub-standard work.

I believe in the principle of setting great expectations from my team while nourishing my team’s confidence. Striking this delicate balance requires deliberate practice.

There is a psychological phenomenon called Pygmalion effect wherein high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area. This works well in management as long as the high performance bar is set with the intent of stretching the team member and realizing her potential. The high performance bar needs to be positioned as a challenge with the intent of motivating the team member to go above and beyond the expected inputs. This is when true magic unfolds.

When I was building growth function in Flipkart, I onboarded a diffident team member who came with an average performance history in the organization though his past credentials painted a different picture. I stretched him by putting him in a role that required lot of analytical horsepower and collaboration with much senior stakeholders. I took the bar up every time he hit the set goal. In a year, he transformed into a whole new person high on self-confidence. It was as if there was a high energy personality within him lying dormant waiting to be discovered. He became a source of positive energy and raised the bar for the whole team.

#5. Cast a psychological safety net - “Success is yours and failure is mine”

When I started my career with KPMG, I got to work with the Harvey Specter of KPMG India. He was razor sharp, aggressive, articulate and ruthless. He chose his apprentices and groomed them in his own unique way. I am grateful to him for the amazing career launch pad he offered me. I parted ways after 2 years because I had a different vision for my career. While he espoused many philosophies that I disagree with to date, he was adept at creating a psychological safety net for his team. He craved improvisation and innovation and constantly encouraged me to take risks while making it clear that “success is yours and failure is mine”. He empowered me to take the leaps of faith that would have us deliver exceptional results.

I have imbibed this principle as the real way to empower my team. This does not mean that the team can get away with shoddy work. When your team puts their best foot forward and yet fail in achieving the goal, you stand up for the team and take flak for the failure. When your team delivers the stated goals, you attribute success to them.

#6. Lead with a purpose

Envisioning a higher purpose behind your work can be a powerful motivator for your team to do be resilient in the face of hurdles. Boring administrative tasks would be involved even in your dream job. You plough through it knowing that it is leading you towards the higher purpose of your work.

Purpose can be very broad like Wework’s “Elevating the world’s consciousness” or very specific like Tesla’s “To accelerate the advent of sustainable transport”. I am a fan of specific mission statements.

When I was setting up the growth function for Large Appliances, my team’s purpose was “to reimagine shopping experience for Large Appliances”. When I later took over as business leader for TVs, the purpose was “to transform TV from Idiot Box to Smart 4K Theatre Experience”. In Landmark Group, my function’s purpose is “to enable commerce without borders”.

I keep my team’s purpose specific since it would be relatable and differentiated from the purpose of other teams in the organization. The following criteria can guide you in defining your team’s purpose:

• Inspiring – It should be ambitious to inspire
• Differentiated – It should be unique to stand out
• Relatable – It should be connected to your team’s work

#7. Actively plan for your team members’ next role

Last but not the least, I believe in putting the team’s interest above my own when it comes to finding my team a suitable next role. This is easier said than done because your team member may get the next opportunity at a time when it is least convenient for you to lose the person. This is a classic short term pain vs. long term gain problem statement though it won’t appear that way when you face the decision.

When I got an offer from Flipkart, an overwhelming majority of my well-wishers told me to decline it and stick with my comfortable MNC career in KPMG. I spoke to my manager at KPMG whom I trusted and respected. He offered me an unofficial input to take up the offer and later he showed me how he had etched out a career path for me where my next step was to step into a line role with a startup. I had a manager who knew my strengths and aspirations so well that he could predict the path I would take even before the path appeared before me.

I took inspiration from this experience to think proactively about the next step for my team before they raise the topic. At worst, this shakes them from their comfort zone and at best, this is a delight factor. In this exercise, it is important to place the team member at the center and consider all options, whether it’s inside or outside the team or even the organization.

A good leader would proactively inform her team member when she believes they have outgrown their role and needs to step up or step out. A great leader would go one step forward and leverage her network to help place the team member in the right role.

In summary, earn your team’s respect, win their trust, nurture their strengths, set great expectations while nourishing their confidence, cast a psychological safety net, lead with purpose and watch the team weave their magic. Last but not the least, place your team in safe hands when it’s time to part ways.

PS: I do my best to follow these principles but do not always succeed but they remind me of the distance I need to cover and keep me humble.