How to build a self-sufficient team
Clarity is so important. You only need look to the sketchy government guidelines on the wearing of face masks to understand exactly how important. Lack of clarity leads to uncertainty - and further questions. In the workplace, uncertainty means that tasks don’t get completed and people lose trust in their leader.
Why risk getting it wrong when you can get all the information you need and get it right first time?
When people know exactly what’s expected of them, you feel reassured that jobs will be done within an agreed timescale. Self-sufficiency is a win for everyone!
Clarity breeds trust and builds the feel-good factor
This is so true. Yet so often I hear leaders moaning or rolling their eyes that people in their team haven’t understood, are stupid, or driving them mad by disturbing them to ask silly questions.
This drives me nuts! The only reason this person is driving you mad is because you’ve not made your expectations clear in the first place.
This is often followed up with, ‘I’ve told them so many times!’
If you’ve told them several times, surely this is proof enough that what you’re doing is not working.
The problem lies in the ‘telling’.
Good leaders don’t tell. They explain, listen, answer questions and confirm understanding.
Whether you’re a current leader or a leader in waiting, I firmly believe that if you’re going to do a job, do it properly.
You’re only as strong as your weakest link
Think about all the people in your team...
Are they all performing in every aspect of their role?
Are they delivering the results you expect at the standard you require?
Do they behave in a way that’s aligned to your company values and culture?
On our Exceptional Leadership Makes Sense programme we ask leaders to carry out a similar audit on their team and discuss the results.
Based on the findings, we start to build an action plan to tackle the issues identified. Here’s our suggested approach to resolving team issues and building a more self-sufficient team.
Step one
Arrange a suitable time for you and one of the people within your team to discuss your findings.
The purpose of this conversation is to ask the colleague what they think and have a meaningful conversation about how they are doing. Some leaders choose to do this as part of a performance review or appraisal, others as an informal catch up. If you prefer the formal approach, it’s important to give the colleague sufficient time to prepare.
We recommend focusing on just one area to give the colleague the chance to succeed.
Whatever format you choose for the discussion, the key is to ask them how they think they’re getting on with [insert whatever it is you notice them constantly asking you].
This is where the magic happens!
When a person feels comfortable to openly express him or herself, they may begin to talk about the difficulties and challenges they’re facing, and may seek clarification on what’s expected.
Step two
Ask them for more information to help you to understand.
Once you understand the missing pieces of the jigsaw, you can explain the elements they might be missing. In the case that you still don’t understand why there’s a challenge, try asking, ‘is there something else that would useful for me to know?’
Continue the conversation in this way until you are both confident and clear about what’s required to move forward.
A worthwhile time investment
These kind of conversations are an investment of time. But taking the time to close the gaps is worthwhile if you want to build a successful, self-sufficient team.
The more time you give to listen to your team, the more knowledgeable you become about their understanding of what’s expected. This is far more effective that presuming they know, when they don’t. It’s far more effective than them asking you questions every five minutes and disturbing your train of thought.
To build the foundations of a solid team, give them your time. Please, no more ‘telling’, presuming and running off!