Top Management Story

Writen by Jeffrey Davidson

One of the most frustrating experiences for team leaders is when they assemble the right people, establish the right action plan, and still find that progress isn't anywhere near what they envisioned. You've got to stay loose, and be willing to turn on a dime.

Flexible team leaders finish first. Inflexible team leaders are still trying to figure out what went wrong. Adopt the mindset that setbacks and mistakes that you make along the way are inevitable, and they also represent opportunities for learning, redirection, and growth. If you convey to team members that mistakes won't be tolerated, you'll force your staff to play it safe, proceed with caution, and not do any more than is asked of them. When fear prevails, your role becomes even more challenging.

Mistakes Happen, It's What Happens Next that Counts

Create an environment that says "we strive to do our best, but sometimes mistakes will happen." When team members know that you won't blow your top and can handle some of the inevitable bumps in the road, they're more willing to:

* take appropriate risks,

* accept responsibility for any mistakes that they do make,

* learn from them, and

* move on.

The more challenging the project, and the tighter the time frame and more restrictive the budget, the more likely mistakes will occur. Seek to have everyone acknowledge them for what they are, and ascertain if there are any opportunities as a result of a mistake.

The knowledge and even wisdom that team members gain as a result of their mistakes, shared with the whole group can sometimes benefit the entire project in ways that you might not have imagined. When team members receive support for assuming responsibilities for the mistakes they've made, they find it far easier to critically self-assess their own performance. That tends to make them even better employees than they were before.

How Am I Doing So Far?

People at all levels of experience prefer to be held accountable for the work they do. They also want to receive regular feedback as to how they're doing. When you give them appropriate feedback, they know what they're doing right, they know what they're doing wrong, and they can learn and improve. If you go too long without giving people feedback, they begin to wonder if you're noticing at all, or if you even care.

Some team leaders make the mistake of not giving feedback, especially to highly competent staff, figuring they already know they're doing a good job, so why bother with excess verbiage? Like partners in a loving relationship, people want to know on a continuing basis that their partners still want them above all else. So too, your team members want to hear from you, even if you only offer performance feedback as little as once a day.

When Conflict Arises

Even if you have the knowledge and skills of Peter Drucker Ph.D., the premiere management guru of the 20th century, conflict between you and team members, or between team members themselves, often is unavoidable. Too many team leaders regard conflict as something that is to be avoided at all costs. But that is not a necessarily sound approach to team leadership. When conflict is left untouched, it can fester, grow at an alarming rate, and ultimately upend a team's progress in ways you'd prefer not to experience.

The Basic Types of Conflict

It's best to identify conflict as it emerges and generally, you'll encounter two basic types of conflict. With the first type, a single team member has problems relating to someone else on the team, or the entire team itself. Such conflict can result in jealousy, hostility, mistrust, disharmony, or withdrawal.

The other type of conflict you're likely to encounter has to do with a particular task or assignment, the appropriateness of a particular procedure, or how the group itself is managing its resources. Since this type of conflict is not based on personalities of team members, conflict may have resulted regardless of who is on the team.

Antidotes for Each

Fortunately, with both types of conflicts, there are antidotes. By allowing underlying issues to emerge, a team can sweep away some of the barriers early in a project, while they're still relatively easy to deal with, and hence help to establish an environment that leads to project success.

In the case of conflict between individual team members, by surfacing the issues and having both parties air their grievances, the entire team can benefit. Sometimes you're able to identify and dislodge other issues that would have come up even later.

Now, in a climate of exploration and of mutual understanding, you can deal with the conflict. This opportunity wouldn't have emerged in a climate of passivity or ignorance.

In addressing the second type of conflict, recognize that it can be constructive, energizing, and even motivating. In some instances, this type of conflict actually acts to fuel progress rather than thwart it. You can help members to recognize that they share some deep-rooted values and common aspirations. Sometimes it's best to take time out from the overall project, perhaps have a half-day retreat, and give team members the opportunity to join together in an atmosphere of cooperation and trust.

The synergy that you derive from holding such sessions often more than pays for themselves in terms of team member's increased energy and renewed commitment to the project.

Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, helps organizations and individuals overcome the relentless burden of information and communication overload. Visit http://www.BreathingSpace.com or call 800-735-1994 for more on Jeff's keynote speeches and seminars including "Managing Information and Communication Overload" and "Prospering in a World of Rapid Change," and his books Breathing Space: Living & Working at a Comfortable Pace in a Sped-Up Society and The Sixty Second Organizer.