Category Archives: feedback

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics, team roles

The 7 Things Great Teams Execute Flawlessly

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As business school students, we’ve all had a great deal of team interaction with classmates with a variety of backgrounds and experiences.  Undoubtedly, this has made for a richer experience both inside and outside of the classroom; I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the Goizueta program.

Over the tenure of my career, I’ve had to work on teams of various sizes with various backgrounds and skill-sets.  Recently, our team at work has been growing to meet growing business needs.  As one can imagine, the larger the team, the more complex the relationships and the more difficult it is to coordinate all the moving pieces and players.

I came across this article that speaks to how best to maintain a cohesive unit.  I found the list to be not only insightful for me as part of the larger work team, but also beneficial as I lead my own growing team, especially as we prepare to be MBA professionals.

The article uses the San Antonio Spurs NBA championship to illustrate the importance of teamwork and states that, “Teamwork occurs when every member is in the zone, working in unison with one another.”  As we lead our own teams, here are seven points to keep in mind per the article:

1) Remain Poised; Don’t Panic – When things get tense try to keep calm and proactively diffuse any uneasiness.

2) Stay Focused; Execute the Plan – It is important to stay focused on the task at hand.  This is more assured when leaders assign tasks according to their team members’ interests and passions.

3) Accountability; Deliver Your Role – Be accountable to yourself and to members of your team.

4) Trust One Another; Treat Each Other Like Family –  In essence, value each member’s contribution to the team.

5) Support Diversity of Thought; Embrace Differences – This can help challenge status quo and encourage innovation.

6) Expectations are in Alignment; Adjust to Each Other’s Strengths – Strong teams  adjust to the strengths of each team member, evolving as they go.

7) Great Leadership;  Strong Culture and Identity – The team’s leader is ultimately responsible to set the tone for the team. They never stop leading, coaching and teaching. 

As a part of a fast paced work environment, I find item #7 to be the most challenging.  It’s hard to make the time with so many competing priorities.  I’m particularly curious about other’s experiences as it pertains to being “coached” at work.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/06/20/the-7-things-great-teams-execute-flawlessly/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics

7 Ways to Build Accountable Organizations

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I believe that my organization needs to change our system of accountability and feedback.  We all walk the halls and complain to each other about how things could be better and that so-and-so department doesn’t do their job properly, but no action is ever taken!  It’s almost as if pointing out someone’s flaw is looked down upon instead of seen as trying to build a weakness into a strength.  We do have annual reviews with our managers but I don’t think any real constructive criticism takes place because we all continue to work in the same manner that we have for the past seven years since I’ve been at this company.  Don’t get me wrong- I really enjoy my company and plan to make a career there, but I think we could definitely be better.

This article I found on Forbes.com expresses some views of how to create a culture of accountability. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccl/2012/02/28/7-ways-to-build-accountable-organizations/2/

My wife is blessed to work in an organization where feedback is constantly provided on an employees performance.  It is amazing to see how efficient her co-workers behave and how well motivated they all seem to be.  Their feedback driven culture echoes the authors sentiments about continuous improvement and constant evaluation.  I need to figure out a way to get my wife’s company’s culture into my company.

I believe that I will soon be in a position to lead one of our three sales teams so I will definitely start with what I can control.  The more challenging task will be to take our model of accountability and spread it into the other departments.  In order for our company to succeed we all need to know that the other groups are performing as well as possible.  To me it all comes down to communicating clear expectations and not being shy to question a process, especially if things could be done better.

Is your company one of constant feedback?  Do you have any interesting methods of enforcing accountability besides compensation structure?  I am all ears . . .

04-Managing a project team, feedback

How to Give Meaningful Feedback

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Coinciding with much of what Professor Smith taught us Fall semester, Michael J. Maubossin, an investment strategist and author of The Success Equation,  was featured in a video on hbr.org in which he suggests 4 tips to provide meaningful feedback to employees.

  1. Ignore the factors your employees can’t control

    Companies that incent employees with stock prices ignore the fact that stock prices often follow market trends, so it can be an inaccurate measure of a company’s or employee’s success.  Consulting firms  sometimes reward based on days of utilization — a metric dependent not upon performance of the consultant, but upon how many consulting engagements sold by the firm’s salespeople.

  2. Understand the difference between luck and skill

    The author presents a basic rule of thumb: if the person can perform a task poorly on purpose, then the result is likely based on skill. If not, then the result is based on luck. “You can’t lose the lottery on purpose, but you can lose the big sale.”

  3. Pick a metric that is persistent and predictive

    In this context, persistent means that you get the same results time after time, i.e., accountants completing reports accurately and on time. Predictive means if employees do well with that metric, they serve the goal the company is trying to achieve. For example, timely financials correlate with building company value.

  4. Focus on employee behavior and process

    A focus on process ensures the best odds for long term success of the employee and the company and is most conducive to identifying and correcting performance decreasing behavior.

In my experience,  picking a predictive and persistent metric is the most important concept to keep in mind when developing a feedback program. Giving employees clear expectations provides them a means to guide and measure their behavior and allows management to more easily hold employees to the company standard.

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics, team roles, Uncategorized

How to Give Constructive Feedback

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Giving feedback can be one of the hardest things we do as managers or employees. Somehow the word “feedback” has taken on a negative connotation. But getting or giving feedback doesn’t have to be painful — and it’s a skill we are all going to have to learn.

One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard at my company is the fact we don’t get enough feedback throughout the year.  Many people joke that if they don’t hear any complaints, they just assume they are doing a good job.  But feedback is essential for mitigating problems — and helping employees realize their full potential.

Forbes has a great article on tips to how to make the feedback process better for you and your employees. Here are some of the key tips I got out of it:

1. Be honest. Employees can spot a manager that’s not being straightforward a mile away. Just keep your comments short and sweet.

2. Give real-life examples. Keep track of what the employees is doing wrong or right. It helps you to understand where they’re coming from, and why they’re doing certain things.

3. Lay out a plan of action. Figure out ahead of time how to mitigate negative behavior or reward good work.  It doesn’t help to say “You need to work on this,” or “Great job!”  You and the employee need to put a plan in place that’s actionable, achievable and will help them move forward.

4. Be willing to accept feedback yourself. Employees aren’t perfect. And neither are managers. This helps foster trust between employees and managers if you can take your own advice!

So what’s been your best or worst experience with feedback?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2013/11/19/how-to-foster-employee-trust-and-growth-through-constructive-feedback/

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics, team roles

How to Motivate Employees

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There have been quite a few blog posts regarding effective management styles and how to be a good leader. In addition to these tips, one thing I find very relevant is how to motivate your direct reports and ensure your team is engaged every day. We’ve probably all been rewarded at some point or another with trophies, bonuses, etc. While those are all nice to receive, do they really keep us motivated and energized to deliver great work on a daily basis?

In a recent Inc. article, the author highlights some of the most effective things you can do as a manager to motivate your team:

1) Interesting Work

2) Information

3) Involvement

4) Independence

5) Increased Visibility

I wholeheartedly agree with the tips of being transparent and supporting employees with independence. I think one of the most demotivating characteristics a manager can have is to micromanage his or her employees. In my experience, having a manager who empowers you to make decisions on your own is by far more motivating than anything else. As we all advance in our careers, I think these are great tips to ground ourselves in how to keep our employees engaged and delivering great work.

 

 

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics, team roles, work plans

The Importance of Trust and How To Build it

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Often in our workplace we think of our success as being dependent upon our skills and ability to perform in a timely manner. I thought the same until I stumbled upon this article and it really changed my frame of mind. Honestly, now that I think about it, before my performance and skills even come into play, it is someone endowing trust upon me to even utilize my skills.

In undergrad I was taught that business is a system of integrated relationships of skilled people that are working to achieve personal and organizational goals. As this article points out, trust is at the center of every relationship.

I, like many of you, am constantly working on a project teams and in some cases, managing a project team. The author of the article Roger Dean Duncan states that “With high trust, teamwork is more of a reality than a hollow buzzword. Innovation is vibrant. Productivity tends to be strong and is typically more sustainable.”

This article begins by discussing what it really means to have trust. Later in the article Duncan begins to have a conversational interview with Barbara Brooks Kimmel, the executive director of Trust Across America. In the conversation Kimmel mentions a model that can be used to facilitate the earning of trust. She calls it the VIP Trust Model™.

Below are the attributes of the model to gain trust:

Vision and Values

Integrity

Promises

See article below for the full conversation on trust and how to use the VIP Trust Model.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodgerdeanduncan/2014/07/14/how-do-you-build-trust-in-a-trust-deficient-world/

03-Planning the work of a team, 04-Managing a project team, feedback

Poor Managers Are More Costly Than You May Realize

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In this HBR blog, Monique Valcour identifies some of the key success factors in top managers. To sum up her thoughts in one impactful statement, “If you’re not helping people develop, you’re not management material.”

So what does this mean? It means that because candidates value learning and development opportunities above any other aspect of a prospective job, a manager’s role is more critical than ever. Skilled managers attract top candidates, retain and challenge them, and drive performance. Poor managers do just the opposite. The firm not only misses out on potential talent, but it also costs them a lot of money due to employee turnover and subpar productivity.

As most of us have learned, the majority of learning and development (roughly 90%) happens on the job rather than in schooling (not to knock Goizueta!) or formal training programs. An effective manager can benefit you in many ways – from mentoring and challenging you to providing constructive feedback and helping facilitate conversations. In many ways, a mentor is someone you can look up to and model yourself after. Thus, your own management style will, in turn, help to shape the firm’s future leaders.

Below are some characteristics of effective managers:

-Invested in coaching

-Someone you can respect and learn from

-Takes interest in your career development

In conjunction, here are some tips to becoming an effective manager:

1) Be transparent

2) Share detailed information about firm’s ongoing operations

3) Support internal networking

4) Have frequent conversations about career goals and interests rather than just once a year during annual performance review (I have found this to be very helpful in my own relationship with my supervisor)

5) When planning the team’s work, ask employees how they can contribute and what they’d like to get out of the project (this gives them ownership and helps them buy into it more)

6) Establish open lines of communication and provide regular feedback

Having a poor manager/undesirable relationship with a direct supervisor tops the list as the number one reason employees quit their jobs. Therefore, continual teaching and development should be a non-negotiable in every manager’s repertoire.

http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/if-youre-not-helping-people-develop-youre-not-management-material/

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics, team roles, Uncategorized

Effective Team Building

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The main ingredients of building an effective team are:

  • Defined Goals & Roles
  • Decision Making
  • Commitment
  • Good Leadership
  • Communication
  • Organization
  • Collaboration
  • Competence
  • Respect
  • Passion

From our past two semesters, I have learned that in order for a team to succeed we need all these ingredients. You don’t have to be an extraordinary personality to have the skills you need to build and lead high performing team. People must work closely together, wear many hats and work effectively across the organization to get tasks accomplished quickly enough to remain competitive.

There is an article I read, which very well explains the characteristics of an effective team, such as:

  • An effective team understands the big picture
  • An effective team has common goals
  • An effective team works collaboratively, as a unit

Build a Team for Success

03-Planning the work of a team, 04-Managing a project team, creativity methods, feedback, team dynamics, team roles, Uncategorized, work plans

Managing Virtual Teams

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We often have to work with people in different cities in my business, and sometimes even different time zones! It can be a huge challenge to coordinate work with people you usually don’t see on a day to day basis.  It seems like more and more companies are moving to teleworking, so I thought it would be good to go over some key tips on managing a virtual team:

1) Organize regular meetings with individuals as well as the team as a whole.

This doesn’t have to be in-person; a phone call or Skype can be just as effective. The main thing is you want to make sure everyone is on the same page. The team needs to feel cohesive and like they are all “in the loop” on what’s happening. We do daily “show calls” with all of our team members in Abu Dhabi, London and here in Atlanta. While this may not be feasible for every team, even a set weekly/monthly phone call can be good to foster communication and a sense of inclusiveness.  A phone meeting is also a good way to address any team problems out in the open.

2) Rotate locations: Try to make sure members spend some time physically with the team in their home base, even if all members can’t all be there at once.

This is a critical part of getting a team to work together effectively. Once you put a face with that voice on the phone, you form a  personal connection with that person. It’s also good to see how people function differently while working in the same room. This gives you the opportunity to confront any workflow or personnel issues. This would also be a good time to help the team bond through a social activity, games, etc.

3) Recognize cultural sensitivity.  Be aware of cultural differences on your team so you can head off any potential issues.

I work with people from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life. It is so important to be aware that people often have very different styles of communication and management.  A good way to head off issues is to make the team aware of the expectations for communication and conflict resolution. For example, a manager could instruct team members to mediate conflict themselves, before rushing to upper management to handle the situation.  Team building exercises and cultural awareness classes could also help.

The biggest takeaway I got from this article is the importance of having good communication!  It’s not easy managing a team flung across different cities or countries. But the team will work a lot more smoothly if everyone is kept in the loop, and any problems are dealt with quickly and transparently.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2013/06/20/managing-virtual-teams-ten-tips/

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics

Keeping Your Team Engaged

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If there is anything that I have learned during my career thus far it is that change is constant. Over the past ten months, my team has undergone two monumental restructures. Although I believe that both of these changes have been for the best, the change itself was not easy.

While recently reviewing “Leadership Sustainability” by Dave Ulrich, I came across several key takeaways that are simple yet very powerful. Even though I didn’t have this content as I went in to the recent restructures, I realized that the process that my team was following was very similar to several of the key principles identified in the book. However, there is one that we haven’t quite mastered as well as the others.

The book identifies five rules of the Leadership Code:

  1. Shape the future
  2. Make things happen
  3. Engage today’s talent
  4. Build the next generation
  5. Invest in yourself

They sound simple enough, right? I thought so, too.

Throughout the organizational changes that we’ve recently undergone, I’ve found that keeping my team engaged is proving to be harder than I initially anticipated. Through a series of meetings, surveys and conversations, I have identified a few areas that I believe are at the root of the issue.

The first area that I’ve identified is a strong sense of community. Even though the majority of my team does have a strong sense of community, for some, that community factor is missing. For these few individuals, they remain distant and do not take initiative to interact with other members of the team besides the required interactions for various projects that they are working on.

The second area that stands out is recognition. Each individual craves different forms of recognition and several members of my team were looking for additional recognition. I’ve found that complements and encouragement is one of the easiest ways to boost a team member’s confidence. However, for some, they feel most rewarded when they are recognized for their work in front of others. Therefore, I’ve been intentional lately to try to recognize people using a combination of the two. I’ve noticed that team members really appreciate this and will take action to try to remain in the spotlight when they know that they will be recognizing for their efforts.

The third area that my team struggles with from time to time is cultural differences. Our company has a very strong corporate culture that is conservative in nature. However, many members of our team have beliefs that differ from the cultural norms. I highly value these differences in thought and encourage members to always be themselves. However, that is much easier said than done and team members can easily become disengaged when the culture doesn’t align well with their own views.

I’m curious to know if other organizations struggle with keeping their teams engaged in the company and the work that they’re doing. If so, is it for similar reasons that I’ve described and what ways have you discovered that work well for keeping them better engaged?