Leading Teams Effectively

In highly effective teams, members’ behavior is interdependent, and personal goals are subservient to the accomplishment of the team goal.?

A key challenge is to find ways to create the elements of a highly effective team – interdependence, efficiency, magnetism, shared responsibility, positive energy, mutual encouragement, and trust – when individuals may have had no prior commitment to one another or to a common task.

One important factor in creating effective team is the role of the leader. It is the skills and capabilities of leader, or the tools and techniques put into practice that account for effective versus ineffective team performance.?

Two major aspects of team leadership are:?

1. Developing credibility and influence among team members
2. Establishing motivating vision and goals for the team

?Effective leaders have respect and commitment of the team members. Establishing credibility and the capacity to influence team members are the first key challenges faced by leaders of team.?

?Team members will not follow a person whom they don’t trust, who is hypocritical or dishonest, or whose motives appear to be personal aggrandizement instead of welfare of the team.

Let us understand the first part today.

Ways to build team leader credibility:

Team leaders build credibility with their team members by:?

• Demonstrating integrity, representing authenticity, and displaying congruence.
• Being clear and consistent about what they want to achieve.
• Creating positive energy by being optimistic and complimentary.
• Building a base of agreement and disagreement among team members by using one-sided and two-sided arguments appropriately – one-sided in situations when al team members agree, two-sided when consensus is not preexisting.
• Encouraging and coaching team members to help them improve.
• Sharing information about the team itself, providing perspective from external sources, and encouraging participation.

Once team members have confidence in the leader, it is then possible for that leader to identify goals that the team can achieve and levels of performance to which team members can aspires. There are two kinds of goals that characterize high performance teams, and leaders must identify and espouse both kinds. The first are called SMART goals, and the second are called Everest goals.

SMART goals:

• Specific – the goal is clear, and precise targets and standards are identified.
• Measurable – the goal can be assessed and quantified. The extent to which the goal has been achieved is obvious.
• Aligned – the goal is supportive of and consistent with the goals of the broader organization. People are not pursuing their own objectives independent of their team.
• Realistic – while being difficult and causing performance to stretch, the goal is not foolhardy or a fantasy.
• Time-bound – and end point is identified or a completion date established so that goal achievement is not open-ended.

Everest goals:

Everest goal goes beyond normal setting. It represents an ultimate achievement, an extraordinary accomplishment, or a beyond-the-norm outcome.?

An Everest goal is clear and compelling – serves as unifying focal point, builds team spirit, engages people, and creates positive energy and environment.?

An Everest goal is visionary, not just tactical or strategic, and it leaves people better for having engaged in it pursuit.

?Typical Everest goals are:

• Capture deep inner commitment of people because they are tied to something about which they care deeply.
• Require supreme effort and a passionate commitment.
• Depend on complete honest and authenticity, since achieving them cannot be accomplished by trying something artificial or false.
• Motivate learning and wisdom, allowing people to learn new things about themselves, and their capabilities in the pursuit of goals.
• Enhance positive human relationships – it is impossible to achieve Everest goals alone, so they require support and interdependence with others.
• Lead people beyond probability into the realm of possibilities, so that previously unconsidered levels of accomplishment become realistic.

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Dr. Shital Badshah works as Leadership Coach and helps senior executives to be better leaders, so they can lead themselves, their team, and their organisation successfully. He can be reached at [email protected].