Management Training

In our society, we play by the Star system. We are encouraged to compete, to be the best, to stand out from the rest, to get ahead... in short, to become Stars. Glory lies in outstanding personal achievement. But to develop a strong team, you must help your employees subordinate this need and shift their focus from rising above their co-workers, to rising with their co-workers.

This major change of orientation will be easier for some than for others. As the group leader, you therefore have to recognize individual differences and work with each member of the team to help him/her replace striving for star status, with a desire to develop and be part of a championship team. Good team members . . .

• understand and are committed to group goals.
• are friendly, concerned, and interested in others.
• acknowledge and confront conflicts openly.
• listen to others with understanding.
• include others in the decision-making process.
• recognize and respect individual differences.
• contribute their ideas and solutions.
• value the ideas and contributions of others.
• recognize and reward team effort.
• encourage and appreciate comments about team performance.

The mantra of the best managers is, “All of us is smarter than any of us.” Such managers go all out to meld their employees into strong teams. In the strongest, most effective teams, the team does its own planning and makes decisions on its own. To the extent that all team members are wholeheartedly involved, the team will be able to utilize all of the members’ knowledge and talents.

In a previous issue of ALN Magazine I discussed the topic of how decisions were made within a work unit.To assess how much your own style encourages strong team development, consider which of the eight levels, listed below, best describes you.

1. You make decisions on your own, announce them, and then respond to any questions employees may have.
2. You usually make the decision, but only after seeking the views of employees.
3. You often form temporary employee groups to recommend solutions for specific problems.
4. You meet with employee groups regularly—once a week or so—to help them identify problems and recommend solutions.
5. You establish and participate in cross-functional employee problem-solving teams.
6. Ongoing work groups within your area of responsibility assume expanded responsibility for a particular issue, such as cost reduction.
7. Employees within an area function full-time with minimal direct supervision.
8. You do not exercise a traditional supervisory role; your employees participate in self-managing teams.

Being a manager who functions mainly as a team leader, the question of how much trust there is between you and your team members is crucial.