Chances are that Linda left this unfortunate encounter a much
wiser leader. It’s never a good idea to withhold information critical
to team action and interaction. In this case, everything worked out
all right. But only a successful meeting and a great plan going into
it saved the service department. Other areas that were impacted
included confidentiality, privacy, legal and company policy. What
could have been easy to handle with one individual was much
more challenging when dealing with a team of individuals. There
is no such thing as secrets with a team. Respect, consistency and
clarity are what works.Commitment and Mutual Support .....................................................................
You make commitment possible for the team when you take
individual goal setting to the team level. Commitment cannot be
forced. It is self-generating and develops through involvement.
What you do with each associate can be paralleled with the team.
Rather than you having a meeting, stating each person’s goals and
showing how you pulled them all together, employ the same
strategy with the team.
Let your team contribute to its success. Actively involve team
members in the goal setting and the problem solving, as a team.
Developing a sense of ownership together will expand their
potential. One important action team members can take is shaping
their own systems and methods. Depending upon their skill and
experience, you can facilitate, guide or correct these decisions.
The point is to allow team members to shape the direction
together.
There are several actions you can take as the team develops its
methods of integrating talents. You can:- Ensure team goals are achievable and challenging so that
results are appropriate for the organization while
satisfying the individuals. - Assist in balancing the complexity of measures and
controls with workable checkpoints so that there
is accountability. - Participate in discussions so that pros and cons
are weighed.
Coaching, Mentoring and Managing6