Good people are a very valuable asset to any group or organization. However, this is only so if they are well deployed and well motivated. A good leader is one who pays attention to those who are dedicated to the goals of the organization rather than to those who are there just for the glory. It is very de-moralizing for other team members when they feel that they are part of a team that treats someone with a 40% absenteeism rate the same as someone who is contributing his/her best each and every day.
Developing a good reliable team takes effort on the part of every individual involved in an organization. Good leaders need to pay attention and listen to a great number of areas.
For example, we always seem to know more about what we don't want people to do than what we do want them to do. It is easier to tell people: "Don't make errors or mistakes; don't have accidents; don't be late." These are negative statements. We expect people to do these things. But what pro-active behavior can we suggest to make sure that the work at hand gets done? How do we recognize a person who is doing all the right things and let him/her know this?
When someone makes mistakes, telling him/her to stop making these mistakes doesn't solve the problem. You are likely to wind up with a very unproductive worker. The easiest way to avoid making mistakes is to simply do nothing at all. Pointing out a mistake and suggesting methods for correcting it and changes in current behavior may be more effective.
Mistakes are usually a measure of something other than the behavior we are interested in remedying. For example, telling workers to discontinue making personal phone calls while on duty may stop the practice. However, they may increase the amount of time spent talking with other coworkers instead. In other words, we may have eliminated a symptom, but we have not really addressed the need or solved the problem.
In order to identify an undesirable behavior, we must look at and identify what people DO rather than what they DO NOT DO. Back in 1965, Dr. Ogden Lindsley identified something he called the "dead man's test". The test is that "If a dead man can do it, it isn't behavior, and you shouldn't waste your time trying to produce it." That seems rather simple.
However, we spend a lot of time and energy tracking quality and safety behaviors and goals that violate the dead man's test. Some prime examples include "Zero Defects" and Days without a lost-time accident". Dead men never have accidents and they almost never goof up!
There are quite a few management styles that seem to focus on inactive behavior which leads to no accomplishments.
It is very easy to become comfortable with the "status quo". Efficiency requires work. In order to become more efficient, it is necessary to continuously review the work of our team to ensure that each and every task is really absolutely necessary. Under most conditions, this may not be possible. It may be difficult to encourage creative thinking among team members.
However, there are some ways we can check things out and encourage some creativity. It may also offer an opportunity to identify your most valuable team players. Gather your team together and present them with a way out solution to a problem your team is facing. Listen to what they have to say. If they compliment you on a great idea, they might be telling you what they think you want to hear. Is that the type of input and problem solving you want from your team?
If they respond with questions which suggest they see some problems with your proposal, you should be prepared to rebutt them. Do they persist? Which team member or members persist? How far are they willing to go? Is this an active problem solving group?
REMEMBER, you cannot have an effective team or effective teamwork if people are afraid to talk with you OR if they are unwilling to keep you posted on what's going on. Do you want "PROBLEM SOLVERS" or "YES PEOPLE"?
Finally, communication and methods of communication are a very important part of how a good team functions. An example from the past might help illustrate how communication can go awry at times.
While he was FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover once wrote the following in the margin of a draft letter: "Watch the borders". His intention was for his secretary to widen the margins of the letter. Unfortunately, what he got as a result of a rather large misinterpretation by overzealous aides was a heightened degree of readiness along the U.S./Mexican border.
One of the most important aspects of good teamwork is the ability to send clear messages. If you want a more adequate and quicker response to a situation, it does not come across clearly when we say, "Let's do a better job". That's too vague. If we say, "Let's respond faster", it is a bit clearer, but still not precise enough. However, if we say something like, "We will respond to requests within 30 minutes, no matter when they call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week", we are giving a very clear message.
Leadership involves teamwork. It is very important that people in an organization feel they are an important member of a team. Negativism and pointing out mistakes alone is not an effective method of leadership. A positive, pro-active approach, pointing out accomplishments and positive methods for remedying mistakes can help build a very effective team. This, plus emphasis on clear, concise messages designed to improve effective communication, can make a team unbeatable. Certainly it will contribute to a high level of morale.
1997
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