HAPTER 6
CIntegrating the Individual
and the Team
When you are coaching individuals, it is easy enough to
specify desired performance, keep a log and connect with
them regularly. There is no problem determining how much
more or less you should encourage, instruct and direct. Your
job, though, as a manager is not to manage results but to
manage the aspects of performance that cause those results.
That’s where your team emphasis comes in.
Integrating your associates’ strengths and capabilities so
that the team reaches optimum performance requires similar
yet different skills on your part. Absolutely, the guidelines for
coaching are applicable. Setting expectations, defining
measures, supporting and praising are invaluable to the team.
Broadening the team’s view is effective and correcting work
is necessary. Merging individuals into a collaborative team
requires some real balancing.
There will be some times when what is good for the team
may not be the best for an individual. You may have, for
example, a very creative individual on the team who just
brought you a great plan for reorganizing the data files. Her
idea would win the company the “Outside the Box” award of
the month for innovation. Implementing it, however, would
be a depressing experience for two of your other specialists
who have been researching some different approaches for the
same result. Recognizing your associate for her great idea
while not accepting the action requires mental agility and
6