Hello Greg,
Communication and tracking progress is essential in ensuring the team is working together and that all ideas are being considered and taken into account.
Hi Rose,
I agree. You hit the most critical areas where teams many times fall short.
Is there anything your team does particularly well or has room for improvement in either of these two areas?
Greg
The team I run is pretty small and seems to be work very well. I am part of another team that sufferes from groupthink. It is frustrating.
I am in a situation that several strong personalities have to work together on a daily basis. The limited amount of trust in another persons work is evidant. I have not been able to break this chain.
In order to have true team progress, everyone in the group has to see the value in the direction of the company. I find that the small group of negative people can often spread to the rest of the group if not dealt with early on. It is important to identify challenges on a regular basis so that an action plan can be implemented; follow through is key.
One of the Challenges that impedes team progress is when a dominate personality keeps the less aggresive team members from participating.
Hi Nicole,
This is a common problem. The team leader should attempt to control this by choosing an appropriate meeting style, such as calling on all participants for input after each topic or at the end of the meeting.
If the problem persists and the dominate personality continues to talk over other team members, it would be appropriate for the team leader to privately discuss the situation with the dominate personality.
Hi Steven,
I apologize for my delayed response. Most great teams are made up of a few strong personalities. It is critical that each team member has a clearly defined individual role that contributes to the overall department or campus goal. This is easier with administrative departments, such as admissions or placement. It is much more challenging on the education side of the house.
If you give me a little more detail on your team I may be able to give some specific tools, such as tracking reports, which may improve the level of trust.
I have often found that major issues involving a team circle around communication. I am consistently reminded by our team that the ability to take criticism and apply new ideas or change one’s mindset (or at least be open to new ideas) is difficult if the team and its members have not seen it done by their leader. I try to be open to criticism and respond clearly with probing questions to see what they would have me do. Often there are discussions that develop from this dialog. Openness is key to any collaborative group or team. At times the final choice, being up to the leader, does not please the team, but that should be built into the expectations when the team is formed.
Hi Brandon,
Excellent points. You obviously have a very strong understanding of the challenges and opportunties that come with leadership.
Do you lead a company, campus or department?
Regards,
Greg
I have found that when you have a team the best way to be most productive is to give each member an area of responsability. When you do this everyone has a task working towards an overall goal. This creates good communication and team work.
Hi Jim,
Excellent points. You must clearly communicate the individual and team objectives to each team member and then openly track and reward specific to those objectives.
It does not work if everyone feels they are responsible for everything!
Best Regard,
Greg
One thai Have found was as many of online students are working "adults" many are time contraint. Dealing with adult learners, most feel that they are right all the time. So another challenge is ego.
I found that introductions.. having each member introduce themselves and specifically what they do for a living allows other members the opportunity to more sensative to each other.
I like to build trust as I feel that is the way to good communication.
The best way I deal with is I explain early on witha great example that most can identify with and that is just as Quincy Jones dealt with it when he put all those artist together along with Micheal Jackson to do the "We are the World" anthem...is simply to CHECK YOUR EGOS AT THE DOOR! This is a learning environment...we must be open to new ideas.
Several challenges are out there. Lack of communications, being pulled in several directions by other projects, egos, etc. can all contribute to slowing down, or even stopping, the progress of a team.
Such items as someone that thinks they should be in charge vs. the team leader. Groupthink seems to be a challenge I've noticed too.
Hi Rita,
You have identified a common challenge. This often happens when you have a campus leader and a corporate leader overseeing the same operating area, such as placement or admissions.
Ideally, one individual should be clearly identified as the lead and the other should play a technical or operational support role.
Clear, concise and consistent communication is key in all cases.
Hi Charles,
You have identified common barriers to progress. Inexperienced leaders, many times, delegate multiple tasks to their "A" players, creating an unreasonable workload and a lack of focus.
If your department, school or company is large enough try to keep team members focused on and responsible for one key operating area, rather than always handing every difficult challenge to your best person.
Best,
Greg
Hi Islam,
Great points. Open and shared reporting is also a great way to control egos. Team members who are consistently delivering results at a high level may be allowed to show a bit of an ego, however, those team members who are underperforming need to listen, learn and be willing to change.
Best,
Greg
I think the first thing is the team leader must have buy-in to the task at hand, from there, they (team leader) must keep their peers focused, communicating, brainstorming, etc... the bigger the team the larger the challenges can be.
There a re many challanges that impede overall team progres. The major problem I currently having is with time managemnet and keeping personal life out of the office. I dont want to have to micro manage, becasue that would impeed my daily progress, but as a manager it ultimately falls on me if his/her work isnt getting done due to it. I have discussed daily duties, and expectations with this person. The problem is it only lasts for a short while, and then begins to slip again. How can I keep this person motivated and on track?
Thank you,
Jason
