There are many ways to help people to work well together. One approach is to communicate a compelling goal, coordinate people’s efforts and achieve the desired concrete results.
Imagine that you want to follow this approach in your own way. You may want to do this when leading your own team or leading multiple teams that need to cooperate to achieve a compelling goal.
You will, of course, follow the approach in your own way. If appropriate, however, it can be useful to focus on the following themes.
The Compelling Goal
Good leaders recognise that people are more likely to do superb work if they are working towards a compelling goal. This can be relatively straightforward if a person is simply leading their own team.
They recognise that this can be more challenging, however, if they are aiming to coordinate the efforts of multiple teams. This is because many people will have their own agendas and aims for their own teams.
Such leaders start by recognising that is important to give people the big picture and context. They aim to communicate the compelling goal, the benefits and people’s parts in achieving the goal.
Different leaders may do this in different ways. One approach is for them to communicate the What, Why, How, Who and When. This can involve using the following framework.
Imagine that you have communicated the compelling goal and the strategy. If appropriate, it can then be useful to get people’s ideas about how to increase the chances of success.
One approach is to invite the individuals to do the exercise called The Success Rating. Give each person a pack of Post-it Notes. Bearing in mind what the team can control, invite each individual to do the following exercise.
First, to rate the team’s chances of achieving the compelling goal. They are do this on a scale 0-10. Tell people that it is important to be honest when giving their present view of the rating.
Second, to describe the specific things that the team can do to maintain or increase the chances of achieving the compelling goal.
Give people fifteen minutes to do the exercise. Then invite each person to go up in turn and put their ideas on a flip chart. They are also describe the ideas they have given. Here is the exercise.
If appropriate, discuss the specific ideas that it may be possible to implement to improve the chances of success. You may also want to incorporate some of these into the action plan for achieving the goal.
Imagine that you have gone through these stages. You can conclude this part by saying something along the following lines.
The Compelling Goal
“The specific goal to achieve is … The specific benefits of achieving this goal are … The specific strategies we aim to follow – including some of the ideas you have given – are …
“The next step will be to focus on how to coordinate our individual and collective strengths to achieve the goal. When doing this, we will aim to do the following things.
“First, to invite you to clarify your best contribution. Second, to make clear contracts about the results you want to deliver. Third, to give you the support to do the job.”
Let’s assume you have taken this step. It will then be time to move on to the next stage.
The Coordination
Good leaders often have a coordinator who makes things work. Such a person acts as the central mission holder who enables people to channel their strengths towards achieving the goal.
Good coordinators making clear contracts with the leader about the results to achieve. They also clarify any overall guidelines – the dos and don’ts – to follow when helping people to work towards the goal.
One key point to bear in mind
when leading multiple teams
You may then want to ensure that: a) there is one central coordinator; b) there are coordinators in each team. These people can then work together to coordinate the strategies and deliver the goods.
Good leaders set up the coordinator to succeed. They communicate the following things to the team members or, when appropriate, the multiple teams. They communicate:
The compelling goal to achieve and the specific benefits – to the various stakeholders – of achieving this goal;
The coordinator’s role in making this happen – such as the authority they have when coordinating people’s strengths to achieve the goal;
The team’s members’ roles in helping the coordinator and the organisation to achieve the goal.
Good coordinators are often dedicated people who have a pattern of taking responsibility. They may have a background in event management, managing projects or organising other activities.
They may have started their career by being good implementers who enjoyed making lists and crossing off items. They may then developed the ability to manage by outcomes rather than by tasks. This is essential when running projects that involve leading knowledge workers.
Good coordinators love to make things work. Bearing this in mind, they sometimes take the following steps when helping people to achieve a specific goal.
They keep communicating the compelling goal and the benefits of achieving the goal;
They make clear contracts with people about their best contributions towards achieving the goal;
They coordinate people’s efforts and enable them to do superb work on the way towards achieving the goal.
Each coordinator will have their own approach to making this happen. The following page describes some of the themes and questions that such a person may explore when helping people to achieve the goal.
Imagine that the coordinator has followed elements of this approach. This will involve them in making clear contracts with each person – or each team – about their contributions towards achieving the compelling goal.
There are many ways to make such contracts. Whatever approach people use, this may involve each person concluding by completing something like the following exercise.
(It is also possible to adapt this exercise to make clear contracts with each team about the specific results they will deliver to towards achieving the compelling goal.)
Imagine that people have clarified their specific contributions towards achieving the compelling goal. It is then time for people to move into action and focus on the next stage.
The Concrete Results
Good leaders encourage their people to perform superb work on the way towards achieving the goal. Different people do this in different ways. If appropriate, however, you can take the following steps.
You can encourage people to
get some quick successes
Momentum is important so you can encourage people to get some quick wins. Taking this approach can build confidence and also show that people are on the way towards achieving the goal.
It is also important to encourage people: a) to build on their successes; b) to tackle areas for improvement. There are many ways to help them to develop this ability. One approach is to take the following step.
You can encourage people to report their
progress by focusing on the things that
are in the Green, Amber and Red Zones
Good teams encourage people to proactively report their progress towards achieving the compelling goal. There are many models for making this happen.
Some teams start by inviting their people to keep focusing on the goal. They then invite them: a) to describe the specific things that are in the Green, Amber and Red Zones; b) to describe the specific actions that can be taken in each of these areas.
You can invite individuals to use this when reporting progress on their individual work. Alternatively, you can invite people to keep flagging up the issues that may fall under each heading regarding the team’s progress towards the goal.
You can encourage people to finish properly
and maybe add that touch of class
when delivering the desired concrete results
Good teams do their best to deliver the goods. They keep performing superb work and finding solutions to challenges. They then sometimes add that touch of class when delivering the compelling goal.
Imagine that you want to encourage your team to take this step. One approach is to involve them in doing the following exercise. This invites them to focus on the specific things they can do to finish properly and maybe also add that touch of class to deliver the desired concrete results.
There are many ways to help people to work well together. One approach is to communicate a compelling goal, coordinate people’s efforts and achieve the desired concrete results.
This approach can be used when leading your own team or leading multiple teams. The key is to communicate a compelling goal. This increases the chances of people doing superb work and achieving the picture of success.
Let’s return to your own work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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