John is confused. He prides himself as being a fair and
reasonably good manager. This is not his first assignment
as a manager, but it is certainly turning out to be his
most challenging. John had taken over the sales team
almost six months ago. Performance at the time was not up
to standard and although individual performance has
improved over the last six months, John just cannot get his
sales people to work as a team. What is he missing out on,
or not doing so well?
Whenever you are put in charge of a "team", the first
question that must be answered is, "Is this a genuine team
or merely people grouped together (perhaps for
organisational convenience) and labelled a team?" What
makes a group of people a real team? Simple answer: a
common goal.
Here's a practical example that may help you decide whether
your current group of people is, or should be, a team.
Picture for a moment the games of cricket and baseball.
While they are somewhat different in their rules and the
way each game is played (at least they both use a small,
round ball), they do share some distinct similarities that
require each game to be played by a team, not a group.
For instance in both cricket and baseball:
- Every member has to be able to bat - the team goal is to
score more runs than the opposition.
- Every member has to be able to throw and catch a ball -
they must all have at least a basic level of hand/eye
coordination. The team goal is to restrict the opposition
to as few runs as possible.
- Some members, as well as being able to bat, throw and
catch, need to have specialist skills if the team is to be
successful. In baseball, for example, it's the pitcher and
catcher; in cricket it's the bowler and wicket keeper.
- In both games, teams can only be successful when every
member of the team feels confident that he or she can rely
on every other member of the team to make a competent
contribution and do his or her job well.
In John's sales "team", they did not have a common goal.
And each member could perform quite adequately and
effectively without relying on the help of others in the
group. There was nothing binding them together or
motivating them to work as a team. John clearly was
managing a group, not a team. Whilst he might be able to
improve cooperation to some extent, it is clearly a waste
of his time to try and turn them into a team.
If it's not quite clear whether your group is a real team,
you can find out by answering the question, "What is the
goal toward which the whole team is working and which
cannot be achieved without the cooperation and support of
all the members?"
Once you've decided that your group of people do have a
common goal, it's time to set some performance standards or
expectations. These should be both for individual team
members and for the team as a whole. Both individual and
team performance standards should include:
- A description of the expected behaviours. These are
often known as "process measures"
- A description of the results required. These are known
as "output measures"
Process and output measures for individual team members
could include . . .
Behaviours (process) - whether or how well the team member:
- cooperates with team members o shares experiences with
other team members
- proposes solutions to team problems
- communicates ideas during meetings
- participates in the team's decision-making processes
- steps in to help others in times of pressure or stress
Results (outputs) - for example, the team member's:
- quality of his/her written report of team results
- turnaround time for the individual's product / service
(or contribution to product / service) needed by the team
- accuracy of the advice supplied to the team
- status of his / her service levels
Process and output measures for the team could include . . .
Behaviours (process) - whether or how well the team:
- runs effective meetings
- communicates well as a group
- allows all opinions to be heard
- comes to consensus on decisions
- shares the leadership as needed
- regularly evaluates the effectiveness of their meetings
(process, not content)
Results (outputs) - for example:
- the customer (or other stakeholder) satisfaction rate
with the team's product / service
- the percentage decline of team backlog items
- the cycle time for the team's entire work processes
In summary, performance measures need to be set for each
team member and for the team as a whole. They should
include both behaviours and results.
Here's an example of the areas where one manager set
performance expectations for his team member:
- Function management (individual target)
- Project completion (individual target)
- Team collaboration (contribution to team)
- Knowledge development (individual target and contribution
to team)
- Participation in maintaining team performance
(contribution to team)
Each of these then had specific targets set (quantity,
quality, time, cost) and were also given a ranking so that
the team member knew the relative importance of each.
In the case of team performance standards, it is imperative
to have the team come together to develop these. You can
do this through running a team session to set the
performance expectations. Here's a process that can assist.
Have each team member answer the following questions before
the meeting and bring their answers to the meeting:
1. My team is made up of the following people . . .
2. The aim of my team is to . . .
3. We do this by . . .
4. The challenges we face are . . .
5. I would rate the current performance of my team as
"successful", "somewhat successful" "less than successful"
because . . .
6. I would now like to suggest that we set the following
standards of performance for the team . . .
At the meeting reach consensus on the following: - Team aim
- Current behaviours - Current challenges - Desired
behaviours - Team performance standards - How we will
measure our success - What we will do when individual team
members are not meeting the standards
At the core of these concepts is the principle that team
and individual performance can be improved and maintained
when all involved know and agree on the required
performance.
When both the manager and his/her people do indeed form a
real team, they can work together to achieve their common
goals. In John's sales group, he can now focus more on
improving individual performance; one-to-one rather than
one-to-team communication; and fostering greater
cooperation across the group without the pressure to
develop teamwork.
----------------------------------------------------
Bob Selden is the author of the newly published "What To Do
When You Become The Boss" ' a self help book for new
managers. He also coaches at the International Institute
for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and the
Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney. You can
contact Bob via http://www.whenyoubecometheboss.com/
