By Daniel Bobinski
Picture the chief of a construction crew assembling a team to build a house. Everyone is enthusiastic, but only a few people have tools. Some have hammers, a few others have drills, but that’s about it.
Without essential tools, it’s a fair bet not much progress will be made. One could blame the workers in this situation, but if the crew chief didn’t make things clear about what was expected, the responsibility for people being unprepared actually rests on his or her shoulders.
This same principle applies to team leaders in any industry. Leaders can bring all sorts of passion and personality, but if the core ingredients of what makes a team function well are missing, the team will not be as productive as it could be.
Over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of teams across many different industries, and being the guy who’s not in an organization’s political loop, I’m often seen as the trusted confidant. That means I get told the inside story – what’s really happening in a workplace: the good, the bad and the missing.
One thing I’m told on a regular basis is that team leaders are skipping essential ingredients in their team-building efforts. When I talk about these ingredients with leaders, I’m usually met with what I call self-protective bravado. Team leaders – who are often moving at Mach 6 – respond with comments like, “Well, that’s obvious” or “Of course we do that.”
But there’s the disconnect. Despite team leaders telling me everything is functioning fine, the members on their teams are telling me very different things.
I say these things not as a criticism, but as a request. As you read what follows, you may think to yourself, “I already know these things.” If so, I’d ask you to pause. You might think you’re providing these team-building ingredients, but maybe you’re not.
Alternatively, perhaps you are indeed working to ensure these things are in place, but your team isn’t experiencing them. That’s often a disconnect I hear about.
Either way, if you are a team leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure these essential factors aren’t just present, but that they’re actually experienced by the people on your team.
What follows are five ingredients every team needs. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means, but these ingredients are fundamental.
1. Honesty. This should go without saying, yet too often I hear about its absence. For people to be truly committed and engaged, they need honesty from their leaders. Half-truths won’t cut it, and neither will vague answers. And corporate-speak used to dodge questions is viewed with as much trust as a politician making a show out of kissing babies to get votes.
Also, if someone asks a leader a question and the answer isn’t known, the leader just needs to say that. Simply say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” A good leader doesn’t need to have all the answers. The leader needs to know where to find the answers.
As the saying goes, “Let your yes be ‘yes,’ and your no be ‘no.’ ” And if you have to answer with, “I don’t know,” be sure to find the answer and follow up.
And whatever you do, don’t lie. When you get caught (and you will get caught – it’s not a matter of if, it’s when), you’ll destroy your credibility permanently.
2. Trust in the Team. This is another ingredient that should be automatic, but isn’t. Employees regularly tell me: “They trained us to do this work, but when it’s time to actually do it, they don’t let us. They don’t trust us!”
Think about it. You invested time and money to hire the right people and you trained them. So why not trust them to do what you hired and trained them to do?
When people aren’t trusted, they shut down. In that state they do the bare minimum, and that only when they’re explicitly told. In other words, teamwork dies.
On the other hand, if you genuinely can’t trust the people on your team, maybe the problem isn’t your team. Maybe your training program needs an improvement, or maybe your screening and hiring process needs a review.
3. Mutual Respect. My mentor taught me decades ago to “give what you want to get.” If you want team members to show respect to you and to others, then you must set the example and be respectful.
Mutual respect means being professional and polite. It means talking with people as people, not talking at them as subordinates. Respect also includes listening attentively, and taking things seriously when others talk with you.
Just because someone ranks lower on the organizational chart doesn’t mean you can talk down to them. The advertising legend David Ogilvy said it well: If you treat people like dwarfs, you become a company of dwarfs. If you treat people like giants, you become a company of giants.
4. Recognition. People want recognition for what they do. This is not a utopian theory, it’s human nature. The key for leaders is balancing individual recognition with team recognition.
Too much of one and not enough of the other (or worse, none at all) creates problems. Make it a point to acknowledge individuals publicly when they do well, but also give praise to the team when it meets a goal. Your public praise reinforces the collaboration that makes things happen.
5. Support. Without support, teams eventually fall apart. Ask people what they need from you to be successful. When team leaders fail to provide both tangible and moral support, cracks can start to appear in the foundation. Then, over time, unsupported teams become less productive and less effective.
Bottom line: These ingredients aren’t optional extras, they’re foundational for good team performance. If you’re a “crew chief,” do a heartfelt inventory and make sure these five components are in place and operating well. I’m serious. Take some time with this. Identify what’s working well and also where things can be better. Then make things better. The stronger these factors are on your team, the stronger your team will be.
Daniel Bobinski, who has a doctorate in theology, is a best-selling author and a popular speaker at conferences and retreats. For more than 30 years he’s been working with teams and individuals (1:1 coaching) to help them achieve excellence. He was also teaching Emotional Intelligence since before it was a thing. Reach him by email at DanielBobinski@protonmail.com or 208-649-6400.
