Here is a great article by Steven J Thompson about how a leader shapes their team, and vice versa. We think it makes some great points for managing a team with little interference and micro-managing. It sounds like a dream come true, right? Read on for how to get started with your team.
I occasionally run into fellow CEOs at international conferences, who complain that they have to return home because of the problems their absence is causing the organization. I’ll nod in sympathy, but I don’t much relate to that particular complaint. I’m sometimes away for weeks at a time, and though I stay in touch with the office via email, I don’t get the impression I’m terribly missed. And I’m very proud of that fact.
Job number one as a leader is to pull together a great team that’s capable of effectively managing the organization. The time an executive leader spends on day-to-day management is time not spent on a leader’s real responsibilities: establishing a vision, setting a course, inspiring, representing the organization to the outside world, and other high-level functions.
If you’re an executive leader managing the day-to-day efforts yourself, you may not have put the right team in place, provided sufficient guidance, or let your team do its job. The only time I feel stressed is when I realize there’s a weakness in my team, and I put a lot of effort into avoiding that situation.
Here are some of the principles I rely on to make sure I’ve got a team that can run without much interference from me:
Put the right people in place. It goes without saying that you want talented, proven, dedicated people in your top slots. But equally important is that the individuals on the team represent a useful variety of skills and perspectives, and can establish a good working chemistry. Even if everyone on the team is brilliant and highly experienced, you’ll have a disaster on your hands if they’re at each other’s throats, or ignoring one another, or all share the same weaknesses or blind spots.
Manage by objective, not directive. Ensure that everyone is headed toward the right goals, of course, but how they get there should be largely left up to them. Turn good people loose on tough problems, and offer support and guidance, but don’t walk them through the solutions.
Trust, but verify. Your team will be resentful if you’re constantly questioning their choices, demanding proof of progress, and taking them to task over small setbacks. Have some faith—most good managers will reward you for it. But trust isn’t an excuse for being blindsided. Accountability is critical, and you should be receiving occasional reports with enough specific information to show progress and raise red flags when appropriate.
Confront weak links. Occasionally a team member will let you down. Deal with it. Is it someone who needs more guidance? Is he or she in over his or her head? Or is this simply the wrong person for the job? You may want to bend over backwards to avoid taking drastic action, but many others are depending on this person completing the job, and your obligation to the organization must remain larger than your commitment to any one person.
Evolve with your team. Leaders don’t just shape teams—they must also be open to being shaped by them. Even if you handpick and mentor every person on your team, they will still head off in directions you couldn’t have anticipated. That can be a very good thing, but only if you have the flexibility to adapt to the new approaches, styles and opportunities that your team offers. No matter how good your playbook is, it could be better, and freeing up your team to help you improve it will be a win for the organization.
