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