Valuable leadership lessons come from times when things don’t go as planned. In this third and final episode of our mini-series, I’m sharing the most important lessons I’ve learned from building new leadership teams where none existed before.
“The greatest teacher, failure is.” - Yoda
Looking back, I can count eight organizations that invited me to help them with this specialized form of team development. You can read about when this kind of work is needed in Part 1 (When to Build a Management Team) and a summary of the 7 Steps to Build a Management Team in Part 2.
In each of the four lessons below, I’ll share the team development mistake I made, why it mattered, and how I do it differently now.
Team Development Mistake #1:
Not aligning rewards with goals
The Mistake: I made the mistake of not aligning rewards with goals in the very first team I ever built. I assumed that everyone on the team cared about the goals as much as I did and would willingly go above and beyond for no other reason. Of course, they cared about the mission, but I had not set up appropriate rewards to align with our goals.
Why it matters: The team members ended up pursuing individual goals that did not align with our mission. In addition, they found short-cuts to the rewards we were offering without accomplishing our goals. The lack of alignment between achievement and reward created frustration for me, division on the team, and failure to reach all our goals.
What I do now: An “ownership mentality” drives the top leader. But developing an ownership mentality on a new senior team takes time, and they need to see evidence that their work counts and that achievement or failure directly affects them. A senior team needs to have short-term, medium-term, and long-term rewards that are directly aligned with what the organization is trying to achieve.
Team Development Mistake #2:
Underestimating problems with team composition
The Mistake: I’ve made the mistake of underestimating problems with team composition several times—because there are multiple ways to mess this one up. Here are four that have bitten me in the past:
- Not assessing each team member and/or not sharing the results
- Not benchmarking each position and/or not matching the person to the role
- Bending the structure to fit a person and/or trying too hard to make someone fit
- Forcing people of unequal capacity to be on a team together
In each case, I did not give sufficient attention to the challenge of getting the right people on the team. In my experience, it is hard to think of a team that did not have to make some trades before getting the right people together.
Why it matters: The biggest payoff of building a team is that they can function together as greater than the sum of their parts. If the composition is not right, the whole team will be held back, and it may become completely dysfunctional.
What I do now: Today I use a data-driven approach to team composition, benchmarking and assessing both people and positions. I share that data openly with the team so each member can clearly see their own “fit” and see how other team members bring value to the whole. Not only do we get the right people in the right seats, but they all know it and have greater confidence in each other.
Team Development Mistake #3:
Teaching without coaching
The Mistake: Early in my leadership practice, I made the mistake of teaching without coaching. I assumed that if I provided great instruction, new team members would know how to apply it and would be successful in their attempts. But without follow-up coaching, many of my excellent team workshops turned into short-lived efforts that did not change team practices.
Why it matters: I’ve discovered a steep learning curve in the transition from functional leader to senior team member. There are many old habits to un-learn (like end-around maneuvers to avoid dealing with a coworker’s objections) and new habits to learn (like hyper-attention to proactive communication).
What I do now: I now recommend a combination of internal mentoring and external coaching as essential next steps after any team training. New behaviors take time to develop, and teams have greater success when there is individualized and group support.
Team Development Mistake #4:
Not Helping the Leader see their own issues
The Mistake: Leaders often sound very authoritative when they tell me about problems in their organizations. They usually have evidence and good reasoning when they analyze and explain these issues. It is very tempting to believe them. But it is a mistake to not direct the leader back to their own issues when building a team. One leader got so frustrated with his direct reports that he decided to sell his company and start over. I calmly told him that he would re-create all the same problems in the new company within 18 months. He didn’t believe me, because he thought the source of the problems was in other employees.
Why it matters: Unless the leader was recently brought in to the organization, they have created their current situation by what they have modeled and allowed. The system will not change without the leader also making changes in themselves. Leaders are not external to the senior team; they are active participants in it. The team cannot grow beyond the capacity and self-awareness of the leader.
What I do now: Today I work even harder to serve leaders by standing firmly for their own growth and awareness. If the leader can’t recognize their own contribution to current problems, the new senior team is doomed to fail. One of the ways a leader can increase self-awareness is by learning how to effectively solicit feedback.
Building a leadership team from scratch is hard work. It takes time, patience, and committed effort. The rewards for this work can be life-changing for the leader and destiny-changing for the organization. You have a much greater chance of success if you learn from the mistakes of others and actively cultivate a culture of awareness and reflection.
