One of the most common questions I am asked is:
“My team is ‘not performing’ what can I do to improve their productivity and performance?”
I really wish there was just one cause and one solution for this all too common dilemma. There is no doubt that managing a team is challenging and there are many different causes of a poor performing team. Spotting the problem is the easy part. Working toward a sustainable solution well .. not so easy.
For me, when posed with this challenge here is my core philosophy and a very simple explanation of how I approach the situation.
- First things First: We firstly need to recognise that we are observing a symptom. We need to step right back and look for a sustainable solution. No pointing the finger. No blame game. Just a genuine interest in creating a fabulous team and energised outcomes. For the sake of this exercise, here are four key areas I would be delving into.
- Management as Leadership: For me, if you are leading a team within an organisation, no matter what your level, you need to be integrating leadership and management skills. In my world this means every supervisor/team leader/manager/leader/executive is charged with “Maximising and channeling human energies (through sound systems) to create outcomes that matter for the organisation and the individuals”. This means you should always be executing three skill sets simultaneously – business acumen, management and leadership. Each skill set will take the lead at different points, and the closer you are to the top of the organisation, the more consistently you should be demonstrating capability in all three areas. Here are some key questions I would ask to delve further into these three areas.
- Business Acumen: Are you clear on the companies strategic goals? What do these mean for your department/team/the individuals? Do these goals and how you intend to pursue them, contribute to the sustainability (financial and other) of the organisation? Do you have the appropriate resources to achieve the desired goals? Do you have a budget that supports the achievement of the desired goals? Do you have appropriate financial and related reporting processes in place to track your progress and management of business resources?
- Leadership: Do you have a vision for your team that the team has co-created and owns? How have you achieved ‘buy in’ or ‘co-creation’ from the team and the individuals? How have you aligned each individual with their personal goals, position goals, team goals and the company goals, with a view to maximising energy, motivation and engagement? How energised are you in relation to the company and team goals? How much do you believe in your team and the company? How do the organisational culture, goals and management processes align with your personal goals, values and skills?
- Management: How have you translated these goals into management processes? For example: How do they integrate with HR processes such as performance management, training and development, job descriptions etc.? How do you incorporate individual goals and engagement into coaching conversations? Are your staff appropriately skilled to deliver on their individual goals? Are your team appropriately skilled to achieve project based outcomes and deal with a myriad of stakeholders who can impact their success eg. have you trained your staff in project management to ensure they have the appropriate capabilities to deliver the desired project outcomes?
These type of questions always result in fabulous discussions and lay the foundation to create a powerful path forward that supports the managers and the teams to elevate their thinking, develop new skills and to build their team energy and outcomes.
If you are experiencing challenges with your team why not have a colleague, peer or friend ask you the above questions and see what insights or actions your discussion sparks.
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