Aligning your team for success
4 questions to help keep your project on track
After uprooting and moving to Texas, we embarked on a building project starting from the ground up. Never having participated in this kind of construction adventure, there has been so much to learn! We’ve observed how every step is measured carefully before the next one can begin.
Now that the foundation is set, we’re told things will move more quickly. It’s been fascinating to see how the on-site project manager connects with all of his subcontractors and various inspectors. There’s a dance that takes place as one stakeholder shows up with a certain set of skills, completes a task, and then makes room for the next stakeholder to arrive.
In the throes of activity, we’ve noticed how communication, timing and relationship building makes an enormous difference. We’ve also seen how delays occur in the form of rain, or incomplete deliveries, or when inspections will take place, and we’ve observed how various team members deal with those glitches.
Many of these same dynamics show up in organizations – as leaders work with their teams to initiate and complete projects. Their success is often linked to how well each member executes their role – and how they bring those results together for the final result. How do you fit into this equation along the way?
THIS WEEK’S INSIGHT
Aligning your team for success
I’m working to influence my team to stick to the priorities of this essential project we’re working on, but they don’t seem to see the importance of what we’re doing. How do I communicate that better to them?
Stuart opened our session last week with this question, frustrated that his direct reports don’t seem to see the significance of the initiative his team is driving.
They feel their urgent matters are more critical, so they leave off essential pieces when they show up for our one-on-ones. I’m at my wits’ end!
As a seasoned leader, we began to unpack how he has brought his team along in the past to reach an objective.
Typically I go through a list: 1) the work isn’t just for the team, it’s for the org; 2) we determine what’s most important in this specific initiative; 3) we consider the amount of time it will take; 4) we make sure everyone is ready for their task.
I wondered what was so different this time?
More than anything, they are telling me they have urgent issues that are driving their work and preventing them from putting their full attention on this project.
So we explored what might happen if he asked them, directly, about those urgent matters.
This week, Stuart arrived with a much brighter outlook.
We’re still 4 days out, but now we’re back on track.
What changed?
Turns out my team was being tapped by leaders on matters I didn’t realize. When I spoke to my partners, they agreed to ease off on those deadlines while we were in the final throes of our project so that most of my direct reports could focus on this key initiative.
Stuart said once this initiative is launched, he wants to be better at clearing the decks for his team - so that they aren’t so torn about which deadline to meet.
THIS WEEK’S TOOL
4 questions to help keep your project on track
I came across an insightful article, “How to prioritize tasks as a team when everything seems important,” written by Kat Boogard in Atlassian.com.
Boogard concludes her article with four ways to reflect on how to be even more effective for your next project by asking these questions. Do you need to:
Those moments when you and your team are burdened with on-fire priorities aren’t just something to get through—they’re something to learn from. So, once you’re through the thick of it, make sure you turn around and figure out how you can equip yourselves to do your best work. Do that and you and your team will check tasks off your to-do lists with more strategy and way less stress.
My takeaway
Being reflective, after success or facing an obstacle, offers me a way to evaluate what has taken place. How do I want to proceed now?
When I’m aligned with my team, we can regroup and decide if there’s something that can be done better.
This is the stickiest part. If I’m barreling ahead and don’t notice that my colleague is burdened with a heavy weight, there’s a strong chance I will misinterpret why she hasn’t met the mark.
When I discover what’s actually going on with a question about what’s in the way or more about her thought process, we both have a chance to make a shift in our workflow and our expectations.
Somehow, it inevitably gets back to listening and asking questions.
The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.
Henry David Thoreau