How to build the team
On the last presentation of the effective leader manager course, I posed the following question to the delegates:
"What are the qualities that make a great leader- manager?"
The group came up with the following list of attributes.
The leader-manager is a person who is:
- A great communicator
- A great planner
- Good at handling conflict and difficult people
- A good team builder
A good team builder
What does it mean to be "a good team builder"? And why is being a good team builder an essential skill for leaders.
Let us think about that:
A team may be defined as "a group of two or more individuals who are working as a cooperative union in order to achieve an agreed and shared goal".
The key words here are "shared goal"" and "cooperative union".
If a team is to function well, it must be a cooperative union.
If the team is not a "cooperative union" then the team will not function properly.
The leader must be able to inspire the other people in the group to work together as a cooperative union, in spite of the many differences that they have in temperaments, different interests, different ages, different priorities and different skills.
The leader must be like the conductor of a symphony orchestra who must harmonise the piccolo, and the double bass, the violins and the violas, the woodwind section, the brass section and the percussion section.
How do I harmonise the many different sections and personality types in my team?
You do it the same way as the symphony conductor does it: by not focusing the attention on the differences that exist between the members of the team, but instead; by focusing everyone's attention on the one thing that they have in common: which is the goal.
It is the goal that is the unifying factor.
The one thing that keeps the orchestra together is the particular symphony they are playing.
The symphony is the goal.
Everyone must focus on the goal.
The goal is the unifying element that binds any team together.
The goal is what makes the team, a team.
To the degree that the members lose sight of the team goal is the same degree that the team falls apart.
Therefore if you are a leader, and if you want to unify the team, then focus of the conversation, on the goal.
Subordinate all the many differences that separate the members, to the one thing that unifies them, the goal.
Become a goal focused individual.
Talk about the goal. Think about the goal. Plan for the goal. Ask the others how their actions are contributing to the goal.
Make the goal the focus point of all the actions and all the conversations: The goal is the one thing that can bind the team together.
If you would be a team builder, then become a goal focused individual.
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team building
Team building is the business process of setting one clear shared goal, arranging roles so all members work together, blending different skills into a unified effort, and keeping trust and energy high with steady support. This creates a strong, reliable team that meets targets.
CG4D Definition
Context: Business
Genus: Process
- Sets a single shared goal that guides every action
- Organises roles and tasks so members cooperate
- Blends varied skills and personalities into one effort
- Keeps trust and energy high with steady support
Article Summary
A leader builds a strong team by fixing every mind on one shared goal; clear purpose turns many skills into one force, lifts profit, cuts waste and lets each player do their best work.