- Tell them what the desired results are. When people
don’t know your specific expectations, they don’t know
where they’re going, when the job will end, and whether
or not they’ve done a good job. Being kept in the dark is
very demoralizing. Always define desired results, and
watch people respond positively. Here are five key
questions your team will need to know to be motivated by
the results you seek.- How will the results be achieved as a team? By
individual team members? - Are the results one time or ongoing? Explain.
- How will the team know when the desired results
are accomplished? - What team rewards are associated with the
desired results? - What factors must be overcome to achieve the desired
results (time constraints, equipment limitations, etc.)?
- How will the results be achieved as a team? By
- Assign and define job authority.If you give a team
member responsibility for an aspect of a project, you must
support him by also giving him the authority to make it
happen. Other team members must know this person has
the authority. There are two basic ways to publicize who’s
in charge: by written assertion or by personal
announcement to the members concerned. In either
approach, you must answer the following three questions
to everyone’s satisfaction to make sure the authority
“sticks” that you’re about to transfer.
- How will the authority be used on a daily basis?
- Exactly how are team members expected to respond?
- What are the benefits of responding to this new
authority — and what are the consequences of failing
to respond?
If you want to develop a potential leader and maximize
the chances of project success, let the person have the
authority to do the job ... not just the responsibility.
Notice how the three questions above use each approach
Coaching, Mentoring and Managing7
Problems are those
things people see
when they take
their eyes off
the goal.