It's YOUR job.

 

 

I have seen and read a number of opinions regarding team building.

Some remind us that “…there is no I in TEAM…”

Others insist that “…success is a team sport…”

Another popular opinion is that it’s better to have a person who is self-sacrificing and committed rather than one who is an A type personality.

To all of the above I have but one comment ‘…nonsense…’

What leader would hire a committed, self-sacrificing person of mediocre abilities?

What leader seeks individuals who do not want to perform their best, even if that means others cannot measure up to their level?

Why would anyone expect to participate with only marginal contributions to the overall success and not be judged poorly?

Team building is less about the individuals on the team and much more about the ability of the leader to do their job…to LEAD.

I fully acknowledge that it is difficult to find a group of all-stars.  Furthermore, even amongst that group, some will perform better than others.  But the role of the leader is to establish an environment in which each participant is able to maximize their potential.  Once you establish that someone can be on the team while falling short of their potential, a new and lower level of acceptable performance has been set.

If an Olympic team can improve by getting superior performers, the coach would be derelict in their duties if they did not seek out that better person.

Likewise, an F1 team needs the best drivers and mechanics it can find in order to win.  If the performance of any individual makes that success less likely, they should be replaced.

Yes I want commitment; yes I want team members to support their co-workers; yes I understand that ‘their best’ means different levels of accomplishment amongst the team members.

But let’s be honest.  You can find top performers who hold these qualities or you can develop them in individuals, if you lead competently.  It falls to you as the leader to knit together the skills and competencies of each individual on your team. The lack of cohesion in an elite group has much more to do with your leadership than it does with the team member’s qualities.

There are no participation medals in the workplace.

But there is an ‘I’ in failure. 

Don’t pedal these worn out phrases that excuse under performance.  Expect the best of all qualities from every team member and hold yourself accountable to creating the environment for that to happen.

It's a two way street.

 

As the leader, the culture that you establish significantly influences the reason that attracts and retains individuals to work for you.  It is on the basis of this culture, which aligns with the individual’s personal beliefs, that relationships are established and maintained.

This cultural alignment also extends externally to your clients and your suppliers.  It is fair to say that these are relationships based on loyalty to you and, by extension, to your company.  As a provider of goods or services, your loyal clients have built trust in your recommendations and look to you almost as a partner in their business. 

As much as loyalty serves your interests - whether that is the internal loyalty of staff or the external loyalty of others - it is important to recognize that the loyalty is built on a two way street.  You must remain loyal to the culture which attracted both in the first place.  It is a relationship built first and foremost on that which you offer them, not vice versa.  Their trust, their commitment, their loyalty is built on the foundation of trust, commitment and loyalty that you present and maintain.

In most instances these people, internal and external, will remain loyal unless and until your position changes, i.e. until you cease to be loyal to that which you first represented.  When you make a material movement away from that foundation, you have ceased to be loyal to the vision; you have broken the bonds that formed the relationship.  Therefore, when others respond by pulling away or disconnecting entirely, the fault lies with you, not them.  Your behavior was the catalyst of change and their response is not one of disloyalty.  Rather it is a normal and healthy response that affords them the time to analyze whether or not the changes that you initiated constitute enough of a violation to prompt their changed loyalty.

Loyalty is not synonym for allegiance.  The two are quite different.  Loyalty is a choice and is two way.  Allegiance is a command and goes only one way.  The problem arises when the leader asks for loyalty but expects allegiance. Your values of morality, ethics and legality must be set aside in deference to this person.  It is only a matter of time before the disconnect results in a complete breakdown and disintegration of the union of the parties.

You are the leader.  You set the tone; you set the culture; you control the work environment; you establish and maintain the parameters under which the business or the unit will function.  Continually check to ensure that the standards that you presented are kept – or improved.  In so doing you will have done your part in holding true to the part of the loyalty equation which is your responsibility.  And you should reasonably expect others to do likewise.  It is this partnership that makes your efforts a success.