When working with my clients I am constantly asked, “How do I make sure that my team is focused and doing the right things?”
If you want your team to be fully engaged and successful, below are five questions that you ought to consider. It is best if your team are included in the conversation to answer the questions.
- What does success look like? (this is not just about money; it should include how the team works together, its relationship with its internal and external customers, improvements in systems and processes and how the people will have developed throughout the year)
- What is your current situation? (again, this is not just about dollars; what is the status of relationships within the team, what do internal and external customers say about the team, how effective are the current systems and processes and what is the current level of knowledge and expertise of the team’s members?)
- What are our core strategies for moving from where we are today to achieving the success we have identified? (what are your ‘big rocks’ – the things that when completed will progress you furthest toward the success you have described?).
- How well does each team member understand their role and how they are contributing to the team’s success? (role clarity is essential for success, yet too many people are not fully aware of what their role is, let alone what everyone else is doing that contributes to success)
- What are the explicit lists of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours that all the members of the team agree are necessary if the team is to have any chance of achieving the success it desires?
Work through each of these questions with your team. If you identify gaps in your answers, then establish some action plans to close them.
When teams have a shared understanding of their answers to these questions, getting on with the job in a focused manner becomes a lot easier.
Gary Ryan helps talented professionals, their teams and organisations, move Beyond Being Good®