Trench Insight- Building the Power Org

How a 'low-touch' approach and an unwritten contract of trust helped build years of consistently strong and stable teams

Just for the record, none of what you're about to read would've been possible without having the best and brightest people at my fingertips. Like the notes of Beethoven's 5th, they've been the sublime notes that delivered a powerful organization that resonated like a symphony.

Okay, maybe that's a little over the top. Let's just say I've had great people to build my teams with over the years. And if it weren't for them this little missive never would've have seen the light of your LCD screen. Fortunately, I was smart (and wily) enough to know how to find these people, bring them together and enable them to…well, kick some you-know-what.

Now, most of you are familiar with the nifty adage 'a leader is only as good as the team they lead', which is as valid as the sun rising (hopefully) in the east tomorrow morning (unless you're on Venus, where it will rise in the west). In the past and through to today, the teams I've built have made me look great, even spectacular at times when things managed to go hilariously right. But when things go spectacularly wrong (like, say, the year 2020), your team can easily make you look like a bottom-feeder, wallowing around at the bottom of an empty barrel. That’s why your team has to be as perfect as possible from the start.

But enough with the foreshadowing. Here are some of the most successful brush strokes that netted me the best from the best:

Leaving Them Alone- Yes, you read that right. Leave your teams alone. And if you're a micromanager, you're going to have a hard time with this. You’ve got to let them do what they do best, let them do it how they want to do it, AND THEN LEAVE THEM ALONE TO DO IT! Does this mean you completely disengage from them? No. You get involved when you need to, and then step aside to let them get back to doing what they do best. And yes, it's true. This type of low-touch approach would drive some old-school managers over the edge to seek professional help (which they probably need anyway). However, believe me when I say that leaving them alone instills a powerfully implied Contract of Trust. And what's that? Read on and find out.

The Contract of Trust- A CoT enables people to perform at their best because most sane people with a conscience have a definitive desire to be trusted. And that leads to an acute case of accountability, and a desire to not be the first on the team to blow the contract. Don’t underestimate the value there! The CoT also instills org stability as it removes one of the greatest instigators that beelines people out the door while muttering obscenities, a rotten manager that can’t be trusted.

Seriously, hire people smarter than you- Yeah, I know. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates said it first. But only because they beat me to it. Steve is the one who said it best, though:

 "It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." 

That's hard for some managers to swallow. Still, it makes sense if you take the time to noodle it, especially in large organizations where it's nearly impossible for a leader to be a cape-wearing omni-everything. And yeah, Jobs wasn't a great manager in the context of warm and fuzzies (simply because he had the social sensitivity of a porcupine). He crushed many good people as he went along, so don't take this as an endorsement of that type of caustic management style. Trust and accountability can bring the out best in your people just as effectively while leaving them in one piece (and not several). 

Give them credit- This might also be hard for managers to swallow, especially for those who are insecure or are under the proverbial ax of doom. A hard-unwritten rule of the CoT includes giving credit where credit is due. We've all read the horror stories of people festering with resentment when a manager takes credit for their work, which ultimately leads to a toxic stew of nefarious voodoo karma, so you’re going to want to steer clear of this particular omen. Managers will get credit for the work in due time, but even the Ten Commandments cautions us about stealing, which, by the way, is written in stone and hurts the head when someone whacks you with it.

Here, have my dessert- Another hard one for managers to gulp is knowing what to keep for themselves or pass onto their team, and what the cost might be when the team, or individual, knocks whatever it is out of the park (which they will) and in the end shine brighter than you (which they will do, too). This one could be the most controversial for some of you, and admittedly it was hard for me to get down as I watched someone from my team grow on to bigger and better things after I passed an amazingly gorgeous project on to them. But it was also the right thing to do for both the business and them. The task was perfect for their skills, and no one really could've done it better. Myself included. Ultimately my job is to help my people succeed while benefiting the business while not necessarily padding my resume. I can only hope that the karma Gods are keeping score somewhere.

Forget the downbeat- This one is a lift from one of the classic business bibles of the 1930s, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’. Dale Carnegie suggested that you never end a conversation or a conflict on a downer. If you're having one of 'those' conversations with people on your team, they're going to be feeling bad enough as it is for being called out on whatever it was that they did or didn't do. Ending the conversation on a positive note retains their dignity, refocuses on what's important, and not zeroing in on finding a rock to hide beneath while cruising LinkedIn looking for a new gig.

Now, before we wrap, let's get a little housekeeping out of the way. Everything you've read has consistently worked for the teams I've built (and adopted) over the years. And though the approach is far from scientific, it does fly. It rolls from the gut and both sides of the brain, so although it has worked for me, your mileage and particular management situation may vary. 

It's not rocket science, but there is a bit of an art in spotting your best and brightest while enabling them to excel, and in the end, making your organization look like a quarry of rock gods.