To lead a True Team, the team leader needs to let go of control (or the illusion of control) and trust in two things:
First, that the team can perform beyond the sum of its parts by the leader giving autonomy to the team to agree how they need to work together.
Second, that he/she can develop the capacity to lead in, what for them, might be a very different way.
Individual accountability vs Group accountability
Let me tell you what I mean by sharing a story. I was asked to work with a Senior Executive Team and help them to function in a more cohesive, collaborative way. The team had experienced attrition, new team members were expected to hit the road running, it was tough and demanding and ultimately too much for some.
As I started to work with the team it became very clear that the team leader’s view was that he should manage each team member individually, holding them to account for their individual, functional objectives. His style was adversarial and his view was that the way to get results was to attack people when they failed to live up to his expectations.
The impact on the team was that they simply weren’t a team. They were a work group, where everyone was focussed on pleasing the team leader to avoid attack. When any team member was under attack, the rest of the team were just happy that it wasn’t them. So much so, that they didn’t collaborate effectively, they worked in a very siloed way, they didn’t trust each other, and they certainly didn’t have each other’s back. This team was no more than the sum of its parts and to be honest, probably below the sum of its parts as the leader’s style did not get the best out of everyone. In essence there was little or no interdependent teamwork. Hardly surprising given that all of his focus was on individual accountability.
After a couple of sessions with the team, I met with the team leader and pointed all of this out to him. I told him that team members were fearful and that his style wasn’t getting the best from this team. He listened but I honestly don’t think he wanted to give up control in favour of a more autonomous empowering style; and I don’t believe he thought it would work better. Or I couldn’t convince him; and the team continued on its path.
Increased trust & autonomy
I could contrast this with an example of a highly autocratic Plant Manager who was constantly undermining his team and how team coaching helped the team to find its voice and tell him so. His response was very interesting. He accepted everything they said, and they cut a deal whereby if he stopped getting involved in their areas, the team would give him the assurance he needed that everything was under control.
He stopped attending the weekly huddles and the team took full advantage of this newfound autonomy. They built new agreements on how they needed to work together and as a result, they were able to significantly improve accountability and transparency within their teams. This team leader was open to shifting his style and he was able give the team what they were asking for whilst getting what he needed from them. The impact on the senior team, and on their teams, was transformational.
Step back and observe
The real work of leading True Teams is to take a step back, step away from the work and to observe how the team is working. Is there autonomy, challenge, support, mutual accountability, trust and camaraderie in this team? And what impact am I (the team leader) having on this? And how would you know, unless you ask? So, feedback, asking the right questions and making it safe to be honest is critical.
You might need a helping hand from a trusted coach to help you see what you cannot see or to help your team find their voice and tell you what you need to hear.
