One of the most difficult things to do in the world of work is to work in a team that is not on the same page. One of the most rewarding things you can do is work in full collaboration with a leadership team to achieve a common goal.
I am asked to work on leadership teams all of the time. In my experience the hardest thing to do is to have people leave their "egos" at the door. Sometimes this can be extremely difficult. However, if handled properly, it can prove to be beneficial, because it gives you insight on how certain "leaders" think, and what their style/s may be when faced in working as a team.
Recently, I was asked to design a team that would serve as an ad hoc committee for a data base that I am designing that will contain data that will be uploaded by member institutions. My team consisted of 7 leaders who all came from different perspectives, but who all had the content/area knowledge that I was seeking to complete the initial stages of developing the first stages of the data base. The team consisted of myself as the project coordinator, the director of MIS (Member Information Services), the director of Research, a researcher, two company vice presidents, two members of the Board of Trustees, and 3 member institutions who would serve as "testers" of the initial soft launch of the project.
Right off the bat, I know that I had to establish the tone to make sure that everyone felt empowered to work in collaboration with one another and to be respectful of every one's input, ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Sometimes, this is not an easy task. There were certain members who were critical of the program design and asked that upon furthure review to change the database after it had been designed and laid out. While this was an easy task to fix, sometimes, this may not always be the case. When working in a leadership team, you must express a vision, a goal, and state a mission to get everyone on the same page, because it you do not, you might find yourself going in circles.
In most work/office situations, team building is key! Coaching, mentoring, mutual collaboration are essential to keep teams congruent and to working towards a common goal. Each experience for me teaches me the valuable experiences that I am going to need in my career and my development as a leader. It is essential that as a team, you establish a clear cut goal up front, and to include everyone on the team in this goal from the on set. These are just a few of important aspects that I have learned from working in a team environment.
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4 comments:
Communicating the goal is definitely instrumental to the success of the team and its leader! I like team building exercises, but they need to be done with frequency in my opinion - otherwise, you lose that great "warm fuzzy" feeling quickly. Like any type of relationship - communication and re-connecting on some level - emotional, psychological, professionally, et cetera, are all important.
I just wanted to state that almost everyone should agree with you that teambuilding, collaboration, and mentoring are essential to any office or team. I believe without these thing it may be easy for the team to lose connection and go off in individual ways.
It is essentail to ask when in a team or leading a team..what is the goal. From that you will be able to come up with ways to meet the goal.
Hmmm. Teambuilding. What does that entail really? How long does it take to build an effective team? I have served on a nonprofit board with 8 other people since September. Most of us are new to the board. We are a very involved board because there are only 2 paid staff members. Thus far, we seem to work well and each person complements another's skills. The way we were able to build a strong team is through crisis management. The last few months have been horribly difficult as cash flow has not been what it should be. However, we pooled our resources through doing fundraisers and getting lots of individual donations. Now we look back at the work we put in and are amazed that we were able to do this work together. However, as the board grows and changes members over time, how can we keep up the momentum without having to go through the crisis?
Nice post!!! Great leadership begins with looking at yourself - who you are and what you stand for. Thank you for the post!!! http://www.blanchardinternational.co.in/
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