Working in teams can be tough.
Managing one can be even tougher.
Leading one…
The moment you deal with other people everything becomes more complicated.
You can’t control another person, after all.
A common struggle is motivation.
Specifically, the difference in motivation.
As every situation and team is different, every solution is different too.
But I have found vision to be a good starting point.
Not simply having one.
But having a clear one.
Clear meaning: every person in the team knows, feels and pictures the same outcome.
Emphasis on same.
This is often where teams start off on the wrong foot.
There is a vision.
But it’s not shared.
Feeling that the team doesn’t understand the vision, the leader or manager expresses the vision.
Again and again.
Realizing that the team doesn’t get it.
But not realizing the why.
Situations involving other people are easily solved if we emphasize listening over speaking.
Questions over statements.
We cannot imagine what another person feels, thinks or values.
We rarely understand what we ourselves feel, think or value.
But that’s for another time.
Ask others what they perceive the vision to be.
Sit back and listen.
Where does it differ?
Where does it overlap?
And remember: if the other person is unable to answer, that is feedback too.
With this feedback in hand, it’s time to improve.
The message – in this case, the vision – or our way of delivering it.
If someone interprets our message differently from what we intended to say, it’s a testament to our lack of skill, not to the other person’s understanding.
We haven’t adjusted our message or our delivery to make it understandable.
With a clear, shared vision in place, there is one more thing to take care of.
Relevance.
Why should the other person care?
How does it impact their life?
How does it bring them closer to their goals and ambitions?
The cycle of question > feedback > understand > develop (our skill) continues.
It’s time-consuming at first.
Frustrating at times.
But once we have this in place.
Have the ball rolling.
The flywheel spinning.
Everyone moving in the same direction.
Many other issues dissipate.
Time spent well in the beginning pays dividends down the road.
Cohesion is built on shared understanding.
Motivation on imagination and relevance.