Team management From Culture to Values
Team management is like any other discipline. It requires a learning curve and self-awareness. People get frustrated over team management because it is easily attached to their persona. You are not your management style, you can be a very good person, yet your management style is inferior.
The main objective of a team is to achieve the business goal. All the team members should have unity and clarity of the overall business goal and how each contributes personally to accomplish this goal.
You, as a team leader, should prioritize 3 things to improve your team output:
Clarity of vision
Removing obstacles that face your team
Build your team culture
As a team leader, you are responsible for your team's culture. Whether you have a team of 2 or +15 people, your team culture is an extension of the overall company culture, adding to it how your team is unique and stands out.
Your team culture should answer some questions; below are examples:
Can team members openly ask if they don't know something or need some help? without the fear of being judged
Do team members admit to making mistakes?
How do we communicate when we are challenged?
Do team members have a sense of ownership?
How do we team members deal with attitude issues?
What's frightening is whether you are aware or not, your behavior as a team leader shapes your team culture.
I'd love to share with you 5 values (Technical & Emotional) I exhibit personally and build my teams around:
Solution: My team and I have the needed technical knowledge and experience. We are solution-driven. When something goes wrong, we don't waste our time looking for who to blame; we immediately look for a solution and ensure that this mistake won't happen again.
Strategic: My team and I are analytical; we analyze a lot of data and look for opportunities our brands can take advantage of. We are observant. We see trends and forecast future performance based on a set of variables. We always concentrate on improving and optimizing.
Reliable: we are all accountable; it doesn't matter if you are a senior or a joiner; we take ownership and strive to deliver consistent results.
Fairness: we believe in equality, both equality of outcome and equality of opportunity; we understand that time is an essential factor for growth. We believe in justice. The reward for those who exceed and delivers and punishment for those who insist on always coming short. I am loyal to the growth of my team in every possible aspect, and my team is loyal to me by bringing their A-game every day.
Matureness: we are programmatic, and we communicate effectively, we respect each other and our stakeholders, and we are kind to ourselves, each other, and all stakeholders
Team management is a journey. I hope the above will help you start your journey. The good news is you can improve your management style wherever you are; self-awareness is the key.
What will you change about your management style today?
Regards,
Gamal