In my over three decades of work – life experience,
In my over three decades of work – life experience, I have been called upon by my supervisor to build teams. The first such assignment came my way in the very second year of my career. As manager, I realised how critically important it was for my own sense of success, to have the best people around me. And doing so, that is building a cohesive, well-oiled and committed workforce, I admit, is the most difficult and challenging task of any manager. And I had no different experience. It was difficult then. It is difficult now. The simple reason is that it relates to human beings, each different, in all aspects and respects; each with their own view and each with a wide range of intellect level. For any who is at the helm, must realise that it is “human resource” that will ensure the dream or break it, of constructing and building high achievers.
Said Harry Truman, “A leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to and like it.” To build high performing teams, the most notable characteristic is for the managers to create within the organisation a culture of inclusiveness of all. The buy–in to strategy and then an unquestionable embrace to follow the laid out path, for its achievement, is a prerequisite of both good leadership and good followership. Leaders and followers must learn to co-exist. Leadership is a void concept, without followership.
Indeed for a high performing team, the possession of the necessary technical know–how, is a need. But mere technical skills are insufficient. To progress on the corporate ladder, instead it is more critical to know how to collect those with ‘know-how’ and then club them together towards a common objective. This is the primary role of the leader (manager). No manager is expected to know the nitty-gritty of each and everything, be it products, services or processes – a good overview knowledge that is backed by the willingness to let the subject matter experts take forward the pursuit of goals, is the most likable and critical ability of the manager. The diversity of knowledge an organisation requires can’t come from a single individual, rather a team is required, so it becomes important for a manager to know, how he can assemble a team. Here the skills required, are in the realm and domain of understanding human resources. With words we govern men (Benjamin Disraeli).
An initiated leader / manager knows the importance of acquiring “followership” from colleagues. In doing so, the intelligent manager appeals to the colleagues in the organisation through intellectual pursuit, spiritual values or sometimes even with an aura of personality traits like having an attractive, magnetic charisma or pure undiluted humility. In building teams, it is important to be clear about how incompetence affects the assignment and in many cases, how incompatibility, does too. Managing skills of colleagues to the needs of the job is a function of a manager. If there are too many round holes and square pegs in the team, it is a consequence of management failure, arising from either wrong hiring or even wrong placement. The inability to find compatibility between available job and skill is a major factor, for even good workers tend to fall off the table or even grace, in his/her career plans. But such results, I attribute to incompetent management and not the worker. A manager who wants all power to himself will never be able to develop teams. It is archaic to position oneself to over manage. What require management are consequences and results arising out of the efforts of the team. Task the team, but don’t poke your nose, too often. Individual creativity should never be enshrouded by the power clipping committee structures. More often than not, most committees operate with zero responsibility, either individually or collectively, for the fall out of decisions. If as a good manager you select the best, in the first place, would there be need to continuously look over the shoulder of colleagues, all the time? What a waste of time and energy, such an act would be.
Right decision making is not the privilege of only the manager- never do or create this impression or else you would kill creativity, passion, motivation and the will to pursue, of your team.
For team building, take deep interest in your team members. Firing a misfit is easiest, but making that ‘resource’ fit for purpose, of the organisation, is the minimum expectation of a good manager. Gauge, whether the team members are in – step with organisation goals or do they need counselling for coming back on the rails. Communicate with them; don’t ever presume that all is well. This “interest” in colleagues must carry with it the most potent motivational dosage of “sincerity”. Any act, that is put on will unravel the distorted mind to the colleagues, in the shortest period of time.
Develop ability to delegate – an intelligent manager never hesitates to give away assignments. Once done, avoid the temptation to do it yourself. Instead sit back and allow the individual to grow into the job. An oversight is different from breathing down the neck. In my experience, I was witness to many situations, where the managers based on personal, real, imaginary and perceived insecurities, pushed themselves into not delegating, ultimately to their own peril. The fear of redundancy reigns on the minds of many managers. Such attitude is a managerial suicide. And this thought is highly misplaced. Each has ‘power’ that cannot be cloned; we must recognise this and be fearless in creating successors, from the high achieving team.
To create and grow a delivering workforce, training has its status of significance, but that in itself is merely one small aspect. The essential is possession of harnessed ambitions, ability to adapt, change and possess clarity of thought.
To develop a continuous pipeline of high potentials or “Hi, Po’s” as some HR guru’s refer to them requires a skill and ability to spot talent within the company. And this roving search or hunt need not be restricted just to HR divisions, but must pervade the entire spectrum of hierarchy.
High achievers team needs only periodic guidance. This enrichment through guidance has to be a healthy combination of inspiration and suggestive methodologies for improvements. Create an environment, where each member of the organisation, becomes a self-propelling unit of energy, who would require least supervision. Once blessed with such team members, the manager can have the luxury to lean back and glare at the larger picture of the organisation; and take stock of where the institution is heading.
I have, while reading history looked with admiration and fascination at the “team” of Mao-tse-Tung and chou-en-Lai. The former was the visionary and the latter, the executor of the vision. The visionary never laid or interfered in the path to be acquired for the vision’s accomplishment; it was the executor, who did. Chou, who did it, along with his ‘high achieving comrades’, was also significantly cognizant that he the executor (read follower) never attempted or tried to cross path with the visionary (read leader). Their working relationship lasted over 50 years, of which 27 were in independent China. All managers (visionaries and followers) must learn to emulate this model. Liberate minds. Don’t as manager’s rule the minds of colleagues. Rule their hearts, through invocations of noblest spirit of conviction and commitment. Create innovative mind-set. In innovation lies the potential of growth and success.
Bill Birchard in his work, “Fast Company” lists the following as tell-tale signs of high achievers, they have: exemplary people skills; are passionate about their jobs and life; network with gusto; have a steep learning curve and possess a sense of urgency.
If you as manager have the skill and the good fortune to collect such a team, then you have command to self-sustaining, managerial growth.
Good performing teams never outgrow the institution; instead they remain, despite all success, subservient to the organisation’s vision. No manager or team can be or should desire to be greater than the institution.
The writer is a senior banker and a freelance columnist
