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If you ask a leader what has been beneficial and memorable in their leadership journey, you will find somewhere along the way — At least one mentor. A recent article by Dr. Gary Collins commented on what makes a good mentor.
A good mentor:
To your success, Stephanie
“Nice” teams get mediocre results. Teams that know how to ’stir up’ healthy conflict get ‘great’ results. Controversial statement but let me clarify. “Nice” team members don’t show weakness because” you never let them see you sweat” or be wrong. Likewise “nice” teams don’t disagree openly. Here is an illustration: One of the “nice” team members suggests a low sales call goal. The suggestion is: only make two new sales calls a week. The team agrees. Each member of the five-member team makes the goal and 10 new sales calls are made for the team.
Goal accomplished. But was it the goal you wanted?
Your data shows the average number of calls it takes to get a close ratio of two clients per associate is a minimum of ten calls per associate. The person that had the data didn’t bring it up because they didn’t want conflict. The person that suggested the goal didn’t want to appear weak so he proposed an achievable goal.
Action: Promote intelligent conflict by having the requirement that team members must communicate team decisions to their staff within2 hours of the meeting. This request will often drive team members to bring up any concerns that have not been clarified.
In the early stages of team development, you may want to develop a creative way to signal when the “nice” member shows up. Did you take the initiative and stir things up?
To your success, Stephanie
“Nice” teams get mediocre results. Teams that know how to ’stir up’ healthy conflict get ‘great’ results. Controversial statement but let me clarify. “Nice” team members don’t show weakness because” you never let them see you sweat” or be wrong. Likewise “nice” teams don’t disagree openly. Here is an illustration: One of the “nice” team members suggests a low sales call goal. The suggestion is: only make two new sales calls a week. The team agrees. Each member of the five-member team makes the goal and 10 new sales calls are made for the team.
Goal accomplished. But was it the goal you wanted?
Your data shows the average number of calls it takes to get a close ratio of two clients per associate is a minimum of ten calls per associate. The person that had the data didn’t bring it up because they didn’t want conflict. The person that suggested the goal didn’t want to appear weak so he proposed an achievable goal.
Action: Promote intelligent conflict by having the requirement that team members must communicate team decisions to their staff within2 hours of the meeting. This request will often drive team members to bring up any concerns that have not been clarified.
In the early stages of team development, you may want to develop a creative way to signal when the “nice” member shows up. Did you take the initiative and stir things up?
To your success, Stephanie
When It Comes to A Team; Quantity Does Not Equal Success
When your organization has an issue, do you tend to “throw people at it” thinking that desired results will come with large numbers? Often teams are thrown together hoping that more is better and this guarantees the desired result.
One of the strategies I use when working with managers is the concept of RP2.
Do you have the right people in the right place? For example, if you are trying to increase sales you could benefit by equipping the team with product development people. Likewise, if the sales team knows what customers are buying, you could benefit by having their input on the product development team. Another mistake some teams make is to have a strategy session and only invite idea people and no implementers.
If we take people and put them together without reviewing what talent is available and what the needs are to reach the goals, the team will have a difficult time achieving high performance. They may get results, but they may not be “great” results. As the manager, team champion or team leader, you also have to have the courage to remove people from the team if they don’t “fit” the mission.
Action: Interview each potential team member, determine their strengths and weakness and make sure what they add lines up with what the team has to accomplish. What did you learn when you applied this strategy?
To your success, Stephanie
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In our last post we discussed the first 3 pillars for success as shoot for the stars. Let’s continue our discussion.
Pillar 4: Encourage “fresh thinking” with your staff.
Discuss where you want to take the organization and let staff create actions to achieve goal.
Pillar 5: Encourage self evaluation and personal goal setting
During the employee goal setting or employee development strategy session, make the requirement that one of the goals be related to personal effectiveness. Allow them to own the goal. The E-LifePlan system is the ideal tool to compliment performance planning and goal setting for superstars.
Pillar 6: Give staff the opportunity to make leadership decisions and support their leadership learning journey. Leaders are made, prepared and equipped. How do you become a leader without having experience to understand your style?As you set out on your journey to shoot for the stars, remember to get out of the light. Some leaders have difficulty in allowing their “stars” to shine. As a leader of purpose, power and passion, your mission is to create “stars” that shine brighter than you.
Until next time, Stephanie