Stars and Teams

In all teams there are “star” players and there are “team” players. Both are essential to the success of a high performing team. Star players provide occasional moments of high intensity, energy and drive, where they can muster their single skills to overcome particularly difficult situations. The star players, however, are rarely “team” players. They are usually energized by the recognition of their individual accomplishments and usually have a hard time relinquishing control and delegating responsibility.

The “team” players, on the other hand, understand the value of collective strength and that the whole is, more often than not, greater than the sum of the parts. Team players will try to put everyone to work to achieve the best outcome. They are often overlooked as most attention is drawn to the star players, but are pivotal in consistently achieving results. They are usually the ones who create the conditions that allow star players to shine.

"I want employees who are ambitious, but not at the expense of everything else. It’s the ‘peacock’ issue: I don’t want 800 people saying, ‘Look at me.’ The employees I promote deliver results – and their colleagues want to work with them. An individual without the desire to enable colleagues is just that – an individual. Someone who’s passionate about helping others succeed is a leader."

Tracey Fellows, MD, Microsoft Australia

Here are a few of the personal characteristics I look for in candidates when I am building a team:

• Reliable and accountable. Team players know that the team depends on each other, so they know that the other team members need to know they can count on them;
• Committed. Team players are usually committed not only to their individual tasks but, most importantly, to the overall outcome;
• Active Listener. Team players know how to listen. They know how to ask the right questions and how to engage in meaningful dialog without the need to “win” every argument;
• Participative, shares openly and constructively. Team players intrinsically understand that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, so they proactively share knowledge and work constructively with others.
• Cooperative, flexible. Team players easily adapt to changing conditions and usually take the initiative to cooperate with others to accomplish a task or help to solve problems;
• Respectful and supportive. Above all, team players are respectful of other peoples’ opinions and of differing points of view not forcing their own ways or opinions on others. They influence, support and help to develop others. In time, I’ve seen many team members, who have exhibited several of these characteristics, take on bigger challenges and responsibilities and naturally become leadership figures within their own teams. The star players on those teams usually wanted to move on to become bigger and better star players on other teams.

An interesting observation is that team players who excel at being team players, often become star players themselves,by exercising leadership skills like active listening or delegation, while still retaining their team player characteristics.My observations and personal experience suggest that people who are able to walk this fine line greatly accelerate their personal growth and career development.

Consider, for a moment, how others see you and what behavior you exhibit in your relationships with co-workers and team mates. Are you a bright and shinning star on the rise or are you a solid and grounded team player? What do you value the most? The recognition of your individual accomplishments or the recognition of the accomplished job?

The Art Of Delegation

Check out the new article on Delegation in the articles section.

Topics discussed in the article include:

• The Importance of delegation as a leadership tool
• Common blockers to delegation
• Choosing what to delegate and to whom
• How to delegate effectively and productively
• The inherent value of delegation for the individuals and the organization

Share your own thoughts and experiences on this article. How do you handle delegation? How do you choose someone to delegate work to? How do you reward a successful job?

Powell’s Rules

“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of  management says is possible.”

- Colin Powell

I have seen Colin Powell’s leadership lessons some time ago, but frankly can’t recall why I never posted them.

Although I think that the “lessons” are insightful and reflect a man who seems to have a very head-on and assertive approach to people and leadership, I actually prefer the shorter “rules” version, which are very compact and directive.

Powell’s Rules

1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Leadership Lessons

• Colin Powell’s Leadership Presentation

The Science of Motivation

Dan Pink, a former speechwriter for Al Gore, gave this wonderfully insightful talk on the nature and science of workplace motivation at the TED conference this year. During his 18m presentation (a limit set for all talks at the conference), Dan explains both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators and how knowledge workers react to the mainstream reward system in place in most businesses today.

Visionaries

Throughout my career I’ve observed managers and leaders alike. It really doesn’t matter if you’re in a managerial position or not – leaders are not defined by their title, but by their actions. Regardless of being in a managerial position or not, there’s one thing I consistently find in common among leaders. All are able to articulate a simple, compelling view of a possible or hoped-for future outcome – a Vision. Visionary leaders are also able to influence and shape current courses of action so that, eventually, that vision becomes a reality.

My observations and professional experience tell me that the ability to develop and effectively communicate a vision is a fundamental (if somewhat overlooked) leadership skill. A vision statement is a powerful way to galvanize and motivate people around an idea. It provides a beacon and a direction against which we can measure our own ideas, our actions and even our values.

We can develop vision statements to meet any number of different purposes. From an overarching vision for a nation, an industry or an organization to a more specific vision that will provide direction to a department, a team, a product or a project. Even our own careers can benefit from a vision that can help us identify a career path and determine what our next course of action should be.

Authors James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras studied a number of companies whose enduring success have led those organizations to outperform the stock market by a factor of 12 since 1925. In  “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies”, Collins and Porras conclude that all these organizations have a core set of values that remain unchanged even when faced with drastic changes to business strategies or market conditions. Although the authors state that the book “is not […] about charismatic visionary leaders”, most (if not all) of the companies seem to have had their core values imbued into the company’s Vision by one such visionary (if not also charismatic) leader.

Looking into the future and imagining what you or your organization might become is an extraordinary exercise. Just make sure to aim high and far. Be bold. Be grand. I think that true visions should not be modest in any way, shape or form.

 

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you fail, you’ll still land among the stars.”

- Les Brown

 

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References

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies Author(s): Jim Collins, Jerry Porras