Are You Making These Team Leadership Mistakes?
So you’re a team leader. Maybe it’s your first time; maybe you’re a veteran and a senior leader. While the context, industry, and team size may vary, there are many ways a leader can fail on their journey to build strong teams. Here are a few to note. And while there is no magic wand, awareness and intentional action can avoid, manage, or mitigate them all.
Assuming everyone is aligned: With the time-intensive challenges of everyday operations it is easy to assume that everyone knows what to do and—more importantly—what not to do. I can hear you saying, “Wasn’t it just last year that we launched the three-year strategic plan? Everyone should know our direction.” Lack of alignment causes resources to be misused and engagement to dwindle. Don’t assume that just because you know, everyone knows.
Instead: Extract the key elements of the “plan” and communicate status regularly. Keeping the plan visible will ensure the team is moving forward together. Find some cadence (monthly or quarterly) to check in on goals and goal progress.
Focusing excessively on “what” is achieved and ignoring why and how: While the team needs to know what to do, keeping visible the why they are doing it (the purpose) and how they should behave (values, norms) is equally important. We’ve all worked with the “productive jerk.” This is an outcome of focusing solely (or mostly) on “what” gets done (e.g. hit our revenue targets) without emphasizing the direction (why) and the behavioral guardrails (how).
Instead: Ensure you recognize value-supporting behavior. And, most importantly, exhibit it yourself.
Not allowing time for strategy: “I’ve got too much to do; too many meetings. And didn’t we just approve our long-term strategy last year?” Sound familiar? So how do you add another team session to strategize long-term goals when the team needs to keep churning? How can you not? A strong team must be acutely aware of what needs to get done while also deliberately eyeing the future. Teams and leaders of teams need time to think about, revise, and realign on strategy.
Instead: Intentionally schedule quarterly strategy sessions with your team. Ensure you leave those sessions with a clear agreement on what’s important, how that affects the plan, and who owns the next action.
Believing your team doesn’t need continued development opportunities: Regardless of position on the org chart, individual growth is possible. If anyone on your team believes they know it all or can no longer benefit from new perspectives or visibility into blind spots, dysfunction awaits.
Instead: Talk. Talk with your team members and ask, “What do you need to continue to grow and create impact?”
Not planning for team attrition: This is as risky as not developing the team. The reality is that attrition is likely and if you don’t plan for how to manage it, you’ll struggle when it happens. This goes beyond the one team member who knows how to troubleshoot your customer management software or knows all the copier codes.
Instead: Identify possible failure points in the organization and create plans around how to manage these in case a key person gets hit by that metaphorical bus (or wins the lottery).
Not asking enough questions: Leadership is less about doing and more about (you guessed it) leading. If you’re only shouting instructions and not asking powerful questions, then all you’ll get is compliance and routine (at best) when you need trust and innovation.
Instead: Have a set of open-ended “what” questions handy, e.g. “What would you do?” or “What risks might that decision create?” Also, regularly meet one-on-one with your team and ask these questions: “What is causing you the most trouble. And how can I help?” It pays to stay curious.
Team success is not solely created by the leader, but poor leadership can certainly diminish its chances. Certainly all teams will encounter turbulence. The good news is there is always a chance to adjust and recalibrate—no hocus pocus required.
Notes:
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