Developing Your Team

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Developing Your Team

• Management Tools I Wish I Had Known 10 Years Ago
• Jan Williams, LCSW
• Tomeika Watson, MSW

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BEGIN WITH THE LEADER

• First, we look at ourselves

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A good team begins with the leader

• The leader should remain a non-anxious presence
• Staying non-anxious means the leader must contain
  her own stress and become a filter for her
  employees
• The leader needs strategies to cope with stress
  (exercise, diet, yoga, prayer, meditation,
  breathing, social support)

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Beginning with the leader

• The leader must show transparency, be as honest
  as he can, and admit mistakes.
• John Maxwell says, In a study of 105 successful
  executives, the most valuable trait was that they
  admitted their mistakes and accepted consequences
  rather than trying to blame others.

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Beginning with the leader

• Bear Bryant, football coach of the University of
  Alabama, said, If anything goes bad, I did it.
  If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If
  anything goes really good, THEY did it. Thats
  what it takes to get people to win.
• Coach K of Duke University, said, When a leader
  makes a mistake and doesnt admit it, he is seen
  as arrogant or untrustworthy.
• Dean Smith, former basketball coach of North
  Carolina, said What to do with a
  mistake-recognize it, admit it, learn from it,
  forget it

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Beginning with the leader

• How to earn respect as a leader
• (John Maxwell)
• Be trustworthy (do what you say you will and
  follow through)
• Have a caring attitude (let them know that you
  are in their corner).
• Exercise the ability to make hard decisions
  (budget, program, goals, etc)

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Beginning with the Leader

• Leading an organization is a parallel process
• The leader treats her employees the way that she
  wants the employee to treat the customers
  (clients).

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What can I try?

• Think of at least one way you can strengthen
  yourself as the leader

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SETTING UP THE SYTEM

• First, we communicate

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Setting up the system

• Building a team takes communication (every
  message takes 7 deliveries)
• Structured times/ways for communication, such as
  newsletters, staff meetings, tidbit e-mails,
  internal websites
• A good leader uses repetition, not explosion

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Setting up the system

• Make sure that employees know whats expected of
  them
• Every employee should have a clear job
  description
• Every employee should have at least a yearly
  performance review
• Every employee should get feedback along the way
  from the supervisor

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Setting up the System

• Set up quality assurance systems with feedback
  loops
• Example productivity figures with regular
  feedback
• Example chart audit with feedback sheets
• Example shadowing with a supervisor with
  feedback given afterwards

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Setting up the System

• Quality Assurance helps your employees stay clear
  about whats expected of them
• Quality Assurance involves using feedback to make
  improvements in your system
• The folks from Mayo Clinic say, Excellent
  organizations always focus their energies on
  getting better.

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What Can I Try?

• Think of at least one way that you can
  clarify/organize/initiate your feedback system
  and quality assurance procedures

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Support your employees

• Hire good people, help them develop, and then
  trust them
• Grow your leaders. John Maxwell says, Grow a
  leader/grow your organization.
• Make sure that each person on your team has their
  own professional goals (and you as the leader
  should be aware of these goals)

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Support your employees

• Empower your people by (John Maxwell)
• Giving them the opportunity to do something new
  for the organization
• Providing them with the security that you will
  back them up
• Giving them the freedom to use their creativity
  and organizational skills-they may think of a
  solution that you missed!

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Support your employees

• Think outside the box

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Support your Employees

• The Mayo Clinic says, Participation fosters
  commitment.
• Encourage team decision making. Better decisions
  will be made (you can learn from your staff!),
  there will be more buy-in, and there will be
  better follow through.

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Support your employees

• To keep team meetings from being non-productive,
  use the questions What could we try instead
  of_____? What do you want to happen
  differently? What are some options that we
  could try instead?
• Of course, not all decisions can be made by the
  team. When decisions must be made by management
  only, at least explain why the decision is being
  made.

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Support your employees

• Remind your group that being a team doesnt
  mean that everyone is going to be best friends
  with other team members
• It does mean that the team is able to respect one
  another and work effectively together, and
  appreciate other peoples
• differences.
• Coach Dean Smith stated The most important thing
  is team morale

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Support your employees
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Support your employees

• Have fun together! Know your team!
• Birthday celebrations, celebrations of team
  successes, breakfast staff meetings, team days
• What else could you do to have fun together?
• Especially important now with the stress of
  budget cuts

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Support your employees
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What Can I Try?

• Think of at least one way that you can support
  your employees

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DEALING WITH PROBLEMS

• First, we remember that

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Dealing with Problems

• Team problems are inevitable and part of the
  fabric of a team
• Good leaders try to see the problems BEFORE they
  emerge and head them off at the pass. Look for
  potholes ahead and try to fill them before anyone
  loses a tire or has a wreck.

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Dealing with Problems

• Is it a blip or is it a pattern? Watch to
  see if the behavior occurs repeatedly or was it a
  one time thing?
• If its a pattern and requires intervention
• Dont use a cannonball when a BB would do.
  Use the least possible intervention first and see
  if that works. You may want to try a general
  announcement first and see if that takes care of
  the problem.

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Dealing with Problems

• All teams have some problems

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Dealing with Problems

• If more intervention is needed, try teaching,
  not blaming (Mayo Clinic). When someone makes a
  mistake, view it as a teachable moment and make a
  direct intervention with the employee (in
  private).
• No weeds in the path. If there is a problem,
  deal with it quickly and move on.

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Dealing with Problems

• Coach K says, In a crisis, leaders stay calm,
  focused, positive, confident, and utilize their
  best people.
• How to stay calm? Strike while the iron is
  cold. Give yourself time to cool down, and think
  through your intervention.
• Respond, dont react. (the monks of Camaldoli)
• Dean Smith says, I always mean what I say, but I
  dont always say what I am thinking.

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Dealing with Problems

• Try to find a win/win solution
• To summarize
• Confront as soon as possible, calmly
• Assume their motives are positive
• Be specific about the problem
• Let them know whats expected
• Create a plan together to solve the problem

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What Can I Try?

• Think of at least one way you can change the way
  you deal with problems on your team

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Food for Thought

• Al Davis, successful owner of the Oakland Raiders
  says, A great leader doesnt treat problems as
  special. She treats them as normal.
• Dean Smith noted, If you treat every situation
  as a life death matter, youll die a lot of
  times.
• Welcome problems as opportunities for growth.
  Pema Chodron says, When we are between a rock
  and a hard place, thats when we grow.