Working effectively in a team, being it physical or virtual, is a key skill for everyone; working effectively as a team is a critical issue for every organisation.
You can look easily to this from two perspectives where we fall at different or same time: the one of an employee and the one of the manager.
Today we will take a look at this second perspective and try to cover those skills that are necessary to you as a leader to make your team maximise the efficiency of working together.
So what do we need?
A) Influence is a state of mind. As a manager, knowing how to influence others is critical but remember that influencing is not about manipulating, is inspiring, is driving! This approach does not mean knowing how to force your own idea, but trying to ensure that the idea becomes common. Steps vary from case to case but all fall into the category of getting people onboard early with a customised approach person by person and amplifying through them your messages and ideas
B) Together is better: collaboration drives success. None of us can achieve our goals in isolation; the relationship with your team and the rest of the ecosystem in which you operate is the one that generates optimal results and amplifies them among your expectations.
C) Stop talking, get used to listening. Hearing is the physical part and happens without our intervention, understanding is fixing what you heard in your mind. Knowing how to listen to others, not just hearing, allows you to grasp the nuances and ideas that you as a manager are then going to mix. Put your self in the mood that the more you catch, the more customised will be your solution and the more effective will be the mix.
D) Did I say communicate enough times to let you start doing it?. Transferring thoughts and ideas correctly and effectively is essential and requires constant practice. There’s no management without communication as at a certain extent there’s no human being. Clear and timely communication makes you in control of the situation and employees having a clear understanding of goals and plan, accelerating the team’s efficiency.
E) Resolving conflicts. Conflict, if kept under control, is sometimes necessary and at a certain extent healthy for team dynamics, but it can also be highly pernicious; it is important to know how to recognise the conflict and the phase in which it is found so as to manage it and if necessary stop it. Pressure deriving from “healthy” confrontation can give to the team a push in making things better, your task as a manger is to understand when curve becomes quickly deteriorating and avoid to go down the cliff of fight.
F) Don’t let dust grow under the carpet. Manage difficult conversations, as quick as you think is beneficial to avoid issues. Working side by side it is easy to slip into the syndrome of the impossibility of telling each other what is wrong. Like communication and leadership, knowing how to manage difficult conversations is an art that requires practice and method.
G) Building relationships goes hand in hand with communicating. Human beings are relational and therefore perform at their best if team relationships exist and work. We are talking about good professional relationships, not gossip related or small groups ones that instead needs to be stopped as quick as possible to avoid spreading the energy of the group into non functional “rivers”.
H) Emotional smartness. Understanding emotions and interpreting them is a fundamental tool for team management. It must be developed over time and it is necessary to give yourself time to know how to use it to the fullest. This a tricky part to learn, so don’t force it, preferring instead a paced and consistent development.
I) Trust and respect, strengthen the organisation. They are two ingredients of the recipe without which the team cannot exist. Security must be built and grown in team members who feel protected and supported at all times by you as a manager and by other colleagues.
F) Be flexible and adapt quickly. Understanding the situation and adapting the way to a goal is a skill necessary for every manager and every member of the team.
