Building Teams: A Strategy for Successful Leadership

As part of our "4 Elements of Significant Leadership" series, I find this week’s blog to be one of the most important and challenging – Building Teams.

Being a leader is part art and science. Knowing yourself is as important or more important than knowing each of those you lead. One of my favorite basketball teams of all time was the UCLA Bruins led by the most winning coach in NCAA history, John Wooden. Wooden was from simple beginnings in the Midwest. When he first came to UCLA, he taught English as well as coached the basketball team. Over time, his values and principles led to greatness among many of his student athletes - a good number of them went on to become exceptional professional athletes.

Building organizations and companies takes not only the know-how, but staying power among leaders. You must be able to see each of your people as individuals for their skills and abilities and also how they fit within the team you are building. One of the stories I have heard and related to my students is that of Clemson football and head coach, Dabo Swinney. He was asked what his secret to Clemson’s success was (in the BCS era, they have won 2 out of 5 national championships) and he said that the challenge for programs like Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, etc. is to take the top high school recruits and identify their true skill set as it fits into what Clemson is trying to accomplish and then motivate them to “bloom where they are planted.” And so it is for leaders in the modern workplace. Here are a couple of suggestions to help you become a successful leader at building teams and leading them:

• Know Yourself: Understand how you prefer to work. What is your leadership style and technique? How effective are you at motivating others? Are you accepted and viewed as a leader by your team? Be honest with yourself and identify (honestly) what you are good at doing, and where you could use some work. You see, you may think you are a good leader, but those you lead may not appreciate your leadership style; this is where mentorship can come into play. First, by finding someone to mentor so that as you are learning, you can share that knowledge with someone else. Secondly, by finding a mentor for yourself – someone with more life and leadership experience to help you become the best leader you can become. Finally, find someone who is a peer either within or outside of the organization who you can share experiences with and learn from each other. Each of these are valuable in becoming the best team leader you can become. It teaches you self-reflection and personal accountability.
• Get To Know Your Team Members: Just as you must hold yourself as the leader accountable for performance and results, you must take the time to create a relationship with each member of the team and create a positive working relationship with each. When your team members know you care about them as individuals and that you want them each to succeed in their personal goals, they are much more committed to achieving team goals. They are intrinsically motivated to find solutions that work for the overall goals and objectives of the organization. When you know your people, you know how to and what motivates each to action.
• Effective Team Building Creates a Synergy from Partnership: When you are building strong teams, you understand the role each can perform and clearly define the roles of each. In doing so, the skills and abilities of the team combine to create a synergy of effectiveness that make the team effective and efficient. It truly is 1 + 1 = 3! It is like watching a perfectly executed football or basketball play. Each player knows and excels at what they do best at the right time for combined success that none could achieve solely on their own. You as their leader are the conductor of this, creating a symphony out of individual instrument sounds.
• Feedback Should Be Frequent and Proactive: Leaders who excel at building strong teams provide consistent and frequent proactive feedback. They develop the art of connecting with each team member to effectively communicate with them and create the right motivation for each person. Remember that feedback is a two-way street. Be sure to encourage your team members to approach you with their own suggestions and concerns. In creating an approachable leadership style, you will get the best ideas from everyone and be able to forge the best path forward for all.
• Successful Teams Celebrate: Just as national champion sports teams celebrate, so should your team! Acknowledge individual achievements and overall team success. People appreciate it when they are recognized for their efforts and NOT taken for granted. Celebrating and recognizing success in a truly genuine way creates more satisfaction among team members and builds loyalty, trust, and camaraderie. This leads to greater teams in the future!

While there are many ways to build successful teams, I’ve found that these are the steps that have worked well for me. It has allowed me to create teams that worked well together and create a synergy that was positive and proactive for the organization. I hope this helps you as you steer your own leadership path!

- Dean