Building A Team Is No Cakewalk

Building a team is no cakewalk, a leader must show courage to bite the bullet

There is no denying that we tend to celebrate individual leaders. Some indeed become legends. Individuals count. Yet today, no individual alone can ensure sustained winning. The best leaders actually work at their own redundancy. They build teams, competent, inspired and enabled. It sounds easy and simple. But it's hard work. It needs some letting go. And even more, needs some risk taking. How can leadership then become a game in teaming?

HIRE PEOPLE BETTER THAN ONESELF

Unfortunately, we often select people who would never ever be a challenger. It is such a missed opportunity. If we hire people who are better and smarter than us, it would allow us to do many more things that would be more impact creating. Organization systems often do not celebrate high talent team building as well as the lag outcome. The best leaders indeed do.

BUILD PLURALITY

Too often, we hire team members who think and behave just like us. Our willingness to experiment with varied talent is low. Most leaders just want a particular kind of sardine, all ready to eat. In the process, they miss out on the opportunity of learning a newer perspective. It is useful to encourage some bold experimentation, hire people who are different from others, possibly even from themselves. It brings a certain balance in the team and is more enterprise assuring. The best leaders indeed do.

BUILD TRUST

This is the most difficult aspect of teaming and lack of it can make the best collection of talent dysfunctional. My own experience is that most conflicts are not as much substantive as gross gaps in communication styles and personality make-up. Each one will be different and it is good to accept. However, it takes outstanding leaders to get a team to trust each other without being judgmental. Use of psychometrics, understanding of communication styles and fish-bowling can help clarify a lot of misgivings. But how many leaders actually spend any time to do a process check on feelings in the team after a difficult meeting? The best leaders indeed do.

PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED FOR THEIR REASONS, NOT YOURS

Many leaders often mistake that what makes them come alive is what makes others tick. It may not always be so. A one-size- fits-all style is passé. Managers need to flex their styles enough to ensure different team members enjoy what they do, and even more, love how they do. The mantra is to discover what makes a team member get turbocharged. It needs managers to develop their sensitivity, humility and intent. The best leaders indeed do.

WEED OUT THE WILD GRASS

Teams need not be still ponds. They indeed are better being flowing rivers, occasionally adding newer members and also letting go of some who are no longer value-adding and may even have become dysfunctional. Leaders struggle with this. Old ties, loyalties and past relationships may cloud sounder team judgments. The team starts losing its sheen in a newer world. Clinging to the past discourages newer, possibly better talent, to move on rather than get sucked into a pool of mediocrity. Managers need to bite some tough bullets. The best leaders indeed do.

CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE

Many a time, organizations feel shy of celebrating small wins. Either the culture of the organization is overly frugal or conservative or managers may believe that these are basic chores not worthy of a little pat on the back, lest people become complacent. Such managers fail to realize no one climbed the Mount Everest without positive psychology. Little celebrations are reassuring. They cement collective self-belief. They make for winning teams. A few kind words always inspire. And an odd team outing to celebrate is worth more in value than what it costs. A pity not every manager recognizes this. The best leaders indeed do.

(The author is President & Group CHRO, Reliance Industries. He tweets on Careers, Leadership, Organizational Culture & Transformation @prabirjha)

This article was published in The Economic Times on 29 April, 2014

https://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-04-29/news/49493747_1_best-leaders-styles-build-trust