10 Steps to Developing a Powerful TeamLeadership means influence.
Effective leaders know they influence byintentionally equipping and empowering others. Ephesians 4:7-13clearly calls leaders to equip (empower) people so the body ofChrist can grow to maturity.In Developing the Leader within You, John Maxwell says: "The one whoinfluences others to follow only is a leader with certainlimitations. The one who influences others to lead others is aleader without limitations." Equipping or empowering people changesfollowers into leaders.While they see the importance of empowering others, many leadersstruggle with how to put the Word into practice.
Here are 10 stepsto equipping people and developing a powerful team.
1. Define and communicate responsibilities that challenge.
Communicate the big picture and how people fit into it. It is mucheasier to put a jigsaw puzzle together if you can see the completedpicture on the puzzle box. It is important for people to have aclear picture of the goals and objectives and how they fit into theplan.Next, communicate specific responsibilities to the team members.What do you expect from them? Provide a clear ministry descriptionand allow their input. A good ministry description states specificresponsibilities, how much authority the team members have, who theyare accountable to, what benefits they have, and the length of timethey are to serve.Help them take ownership of the goals, tasks, and responsibilities.Encourage their input and provide the opportunity for them to settheir own goals as part of the total plan.The goal of the leader should be to encourage common people toaccomplish uncommon things. People who are challenged to becomegreat–and are given the opportunity to do so–usually succeed.In The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner,Edward Lawler III and Patricia Renwick list several factors thatcontribute to people's excitement and motivation:
A. The chance to do something that makes you feel good aboutyourself.
B. The chance to accomplish something worthwhile.
C. The chance to learn new things.
D. The opportunity to develop new skills.
E. The amount of freedom you have to do your job.
F. The chance to do the things you do best.
In the same book psychologist David Berlow speculates that peoplefind meaning and enthusiasm when opportunities provide the following:
A. A chance to be tested, to make it on one's own.
B. A chance to take part in a social experiment.
C. A chance to do something well.
D. A chance to do something good.
E. A chance to change the way things are.
2. Give authority equal to the responsibility.
One of the most frequent complaints of team members is that they aregiven responsibility without corresponding authority. Leaders needto be willing to trust those they ask to do a job by giving them theauthority necessary to do the job. How much authority should begiven. Enough to get the job done. This authority should becommunicated to those with whom the leaders work.Once you have given the job and the authority, you must not short-circuit the process. Do not permit those under the team member tocome directly to you. This will only frustrate team members and setthem up to fail.Increase authority when performance earns it and responsibilityrequires it. As people increase in skills and effectiveness,increase their authority. This will raise morale and increase theeffectiveness of the team.
3. Establish standards for excellence.
Every team should have a set of realistic operating standards. Somespecific standards that will increase team effectiveness mightinclude these:
A. We honor our commitments.
B. We believe in being people of character and integrity.
C. We are faithful to our responsibilities.
D. We are wise stewards of our time, talents, and resources.
E. We work together as a team.
F. We agree to disagree, but not disagreeably.
G. We are committed to ongoing training and development.
H. We are committed to excellence.
I. We are committed to results, not just performance.
As a leader, you must set the example. The standards will becometeam standards only when they see you maintaining them.
4. Train workers in the skills necessary to meet the standards.
Make training and mentoring a priority. Training is the key to aneffective team. No team wins without training and practice. A goodleader never does the job alone. Churches that are in decline haveleaders who see their jobs as doing the ministry for the people andvice versa. However, in growing churches, leaders equip and mobilizepeople for the work of ministry.Use a variety of methods to make training an ongoing process.Training can be done by mentoring, on-the-job training, in theclassroom, in team meetings, to name a few.
The essence of thetraining process is:
I do it.
I do it, and you watch.
You do it, and I watch.
You do it.
You do it, and train someone else.
5. Provide the knowledge and information people need to succeed.
They need information about organizational goals, plans, andchanges. Workers are motivated when they know what is happening inthe organization. It makes them feel important and valuable, helpsthem desire to do a better job, and enables them to do a better job.Without information, people cannot take responsibility, will not beas creative, and will not be as productive.
6. Provide appropriate, positive feedback.
Regularly reinforce positive performance. Compliments, cards, notes,rewards, and advancement are some ways to reinforce excellentperformance. Feedback should be tailored to the person, performance,and situation. Morale and effectiveness increase when people receiveregular feedback.
When it is necessary to confront or clarify feedback, keep in mindthese guidelines:
A. Confront privately, not publicly.
B. Deal with the situation as soon as possible.
C. Address only one issue at a time, and be specific.
D. Discuss only what the person can do something about.
E. Direct your criticism to the action, not the person.
F. Avoid sarcasm and anger.
G. Try to get the person to admit responsibility.
H. Sandwich criticism between compliments.
7. Recognize and reward efforts and achievements.
You get what you reward. Make heroes of your people. Publicrecognition and rewards are essential. Shine the spotlight onaccomplishments. Pictures, awards, speeches, plaques, andnewsletters are just a few ways to recognize accomplishments.Everyone has an invisible sign hung around his neck that says, PMMFI(pum-fee) -- Please Make Me Feel Important.Recognition does that and builds a better team.
Guidelines for recognizing and rewards efforts and achievements:
A. Tailor recognition to the person and the achievement.
B. Make recognition timely.
C. Recognize people, as well as their accomplishments.
D. Recognize them as members of a team, as well as individuals.
E. Make sure the recognition conveys sincere appreciation.
8. Trust your team.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Trust men, and they will be true to you;treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great."Building trusting relationships is essential.
A leader candemonstrate trust in many ways:
A. Be sensitive to needs, interests, and concerns.
B. Listen to ideas, dreams, and plans.
C. Delegate, or trust, with significant assignments orresponsibilities.
D. Share your dreams, visions, and plans.
E. Allow the team to be a part of the goal-setting and problem-solving process.
F. Be honest and open about your own mistakes andvulnerabilities.
Distinguish between trust in character and trust in ability. Somehave strong, mature character but little ability. Others have lessmature character by great ability. Trusting people at the highestdegree possible helps them develop a higher level of both characterand ability.
9. Give permission to fail.
View failure as a growing experience. The only failure is one we donot learn from.
Establish some guidelines for failure: It is OK tomake a mistake. It is OK to fail if we are doing our best. When wefail, we can talk about what went wrong, what we can learn, and howto do better.When team members know they are expected to succeed but that it isOK to fail, they are more creative and risk more. This is a positiveenvironment for a team. When people experiment and take calculated risks in their responsibilities, morale increases and results are greater.
10. Treat others with respect.
Treating team members with respect increases motivation. People workbest when they feel valued and respected. Demonstrate yourcommitment and loyalty the same way you expect others to becommitted and loyal to you as the leader.
In Diane Tracy's 10 Steps to Empowerment: A Common-Sense Guide toManaging People, J.C. Staehle lists–in order of importance–primarycauses of discontent among workers that leaders can avoid:
A. Failure to give credit for suggestions.
B. Failure to correct grievances.
C. Failure to encourage.
D. Criticism of employees in front of other people.
E. Failure to ask employees their opinions.
F. Failure to inform employees of their progress.
G. Favoritism.
A leader can show respect for team members by asking for theirsuggestions, keeping them informed, treating them fairly,encouraging them, and acknowledging their accomplishments.
Begin today to put these 10 steps into practice, and your team willbecome a team that wins!
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Done with the Queens Interview
I have just now finished with the Queens Interview, and it was fantastic. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
here goes the zist of the questions.
It was fantastic.
The opening statement was that I am not going to cross question you or grill you. so with that he asked me my reason for applying to Queens and how did I find about Queens?
Answered him that I interacted with Biswajit, the current student at Queens, and through his blog got to know abt Queens. Researched about Queens and got fascinated by the concept of team work. So emphasised here my reason of problems and enjoyment of working in a team.
He then asked me about how my team would describe me as what type of leader I am? I gave him some descriptions, and he stated the feedback from the evaluators that he got and told me that it is terrific.
then he talked about the weakness from the evaluators and asked is it fair assessment. I agreed to that.
Then he asked me about my goals in enterpreneur and related to this he asked me the opportunity in India, what changes have happened in India in the past 10 years. Answered this comfortably, and explained him anout the economy growth, opportunities in terms of expansion and challenges associated with it, further govt needs to open more corridors for foriegn investments.
Then he asked me about team issues if I faced any? and what was my reaction to it.
He then let me ask questions, and at the end he said he will give me the decision in 1 weeks time. He did ask me about the finance and how would i arrange for it. also he did ask me about the schools that I have applied or applying.
Let us hope something clicks..
here goes the zist of the questions.
It was fantastic.
The opening statement was that I am not going to cross question you or grill you. so with that he asked me my reason for applying to Queens and how did I find about Queens?
Answered him that I interacted with Biswajit, the current student at Queens, and through his blog got to know abt Queens. Researched about Queens and got fascinated by the concept of team work. So emphasised here my reason of problems and enjoyment of working in a team.
He then asked me about how my team would describe me as what type of leader I am? I gave him some descriptions, and he stated the feedback from the evaluators that he got and told me that it is terrific.
then he talked about the weakness from the evaluators and asked is it fair assessment. I agreed to that.
Then he asked me about my goals in enterpreneur and related to this he asked me the opportunity in India, what changes have happened in India in the past 10 years. Answered this comfortably, and explained him anout the economy growth, opportunities in terms of expansion and challenges associated with it, further govt needs to open more corridors for foriegn investments.
Then he asked me about team issues if I faced any? and what was my reaction to it.
He then let me ask questions, and at the end he said he will give me the decision in 1 weeks time. He did ask me about the finance and how would i arrange for it. also he did ask me about the schools that I have applied or applying.
Let us hope something clicks..
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Stages a Team goes through
I have come across an Interesting article on various stages a team goes through.
Forming, Storming, Norming, performing, and then adjouring and tranforming.
Here are the contents, courtesy Wikipedia...
Forming
In the first phase, the forming of the team takes place. The team meets and learns about the opportunity, challenges, agrees on goals and begins to tackle the tasks. Team members tend to behave quite independently. They may be motivated but are usually relatively uninformed of the issues and objectives of the team. Team members are usually on their best behavior but very focused on self. Mature team members begin to model appropriate behavior even at this early phase. Sharing the knowledge of the concept of "Teams - Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing" is extremely helpful to the team.
Supervisors of the team during this phase tend to need to be directive.
Storming
Every group will then enter the storming stage in which different ideas compete for consideration. The team addresses issues such as what problems they are really supposed to solve, how they will function independently and together and what leadership model they will accept. Team members open out to each other and confront each other's ideas and perspectives.
In some cases storming can be resolved quickly. In others, the team never leaves this stage. The maturity of some team members usually determines whether the team will ever move out of this stage. Immature team members will begin acting out to demonstrate how much they know and convince others that their ideas are correct. Some team members will focus on minutiae to evade real issues.
The storming stage is necessary to the growth of the team. It can be contentious, unpleasant and even painful to members of the team who are averse to conflict. Tolerance of each team member and their differences needs to be emphasized. Without tolerance and patience the team will fail. This phase can become destructive to the team and will lower motivation if allowed to get out of control.
Supervisors of the team during this phase may be more accessible but tend to still need to be directive in their guidance of decision-making and professional behavior.
Norming
At some point, the team may enter the norming stage. Team members adjust their behavior to each other as they develop work habits that make teamwork seem more natural and fluid. Team members often work through this stage by agreeing on rules, values, professional behavior, shared methods, working tools and even taboos. During this phase, team members begin to trust each other. Motivation increases as the team gets more acquainted with the project.
Teams in this phase may lose their creativity if the norming behaviors become too strong and begin to stifle healthy dissent and the team begins to exhibit groupthink.
Supervisors of the team during this phase tend to be participative more than in the earlier stages. The team members can be expected to take more responsibility for making decisions and for their professional behavior.
Performing
Some teams will reach the performing stage. These high-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision. Team members have become interdependent. By this time they are motivated and knowledgeable. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. Dissent is expected and allowed as long as it is channelled through means acceptable to the team.
Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participative. The team will make most of the necessary decisions.
Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances. Many long-standing teams will go through these cycles many times as they react to changing circumstances. For example, a change in leadership may cause the team to revert to storming as the new people challenge the existing norms and dynamics of the team.
Adjourning and Transforming
Tuckman later added a fifth phase, adjourning, that involves completing the task and breaking up the team. Others call it the phase for mourning.
A team that lasts may transcend to a transforming phase of achievement. Transformational management can produce major changes in performance through synergy and is considered to be more far-reaching than transactional management.
Forming, Storming, Norming, performing, and then adjouring and tranforming.
Here are the contents, courtesy Wikipedia...
Forming
In the first phase, the forming of the team takes place. The team meets and learns about the opportunity, challenges, agrees on goals and begins to tackle the tasks. Team members tend to behave quite independently. They may be motivated but are usually relatively uninformed of the issues and objectives of the team. Team members are usually on their best behavior but very focused on self. Mature team members begin to model appropriate behavior even at this early phase. Sharing the knowledge of the concept of "Teams - Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing" is extremely helpful to the team.
Supervisors of the team during this phase tend to need to be directive.
Storming
Every group will then enter the storming stage in which different ideas compete for consideration. The team addresses issues such as what problems they are really supposed to solve, how they will function independently and together and what leadership model they will accept. Team members open out to each other and confront each other's ideas and perspectives.
In some cases storming can be resolved quickly. In others, the team never leaves this stage. The maturity of some team members usually determines whether the team will ever move out of this stage. Immature team members will begin acting out to demonstrate how much they know and convince others that their ideas are correct. Some team members will focus on minutiae to evade real issues.
The storming stage is necessary to the growth of the team. It can be contentious, unpleasant and even painful to members of the team who are averse to conflict. Tolerance of each team member and their differences needs to be emphasized. Without tolerance and patience the team will fail. This phase can become destructive to the team and will lower motivation if allowed to get out of control.
Supervisors of the team during this phase may be more accessible but tend to still need to be directive in their guidance of decision-making and professional behavior.
Norming
At some point, the team may enter the norming stage. Team members adjust their behavior to each other as they develop work habits that make teamwork seem more natural and fluid. Team members often work through this stage by agreeing on rules, values, professional behavior, shared methods, working tools and even taboos. During this phase, team members begin to trust each other. Motivation increases as the team gets more acquainted with the project.
Teams in this phase may lose their creativity if the norming behaviors become too strong and begin to stifle healthy dissent and the team begins to exhibit groupthink.
Supervisors of the team during this phase tend to be participative more than in the earlier stages. The team members can be expected to take more responsibility for making decisions and for their professional behavior.
Performing
Some teams will reach the performing stage. These high-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision. Team members have become interdependent. By this time they are motivated and knowledgeable. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. Dissent is expected and allowed as long as it is channelled through means acceptable to the team.
Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participative. The team will make most of the necessary decisions.
Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances. Many long-standing teams will go through these cycles many times as they react to changing circumstances. For example, a change in leadership may cause the team to revert to storming as the new people challenge the existing norms and dynamics of the team.
Adjourning and Transforming
Tuckman later added a fifth phase, adjourning, that involves completing the task and breaking up the team. Others call it the phase for mourning.
A team that lasts may transcend to a transforming phase of achievement. Transformational management can produce major changes in performance through synergy and is considered to be more far-reaching than transactional management.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Vision for Management in India from Dr. Manmohan Singh "Prime Minister of India" at ISB
Today, The honourable prime minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh unveiled the new vision for Management education in India. He gave the Mantra as "Think Global, Act Local" on the eve of ISB celebrating 5 years of completion by hosting two-day Global Logistics Summit-2006 in Hyderabad.
You can also read the complete article here.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/05isb.htm
You can also read the complete article here.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/05isb.htm
Monday, December 4, 2006
Other School Applications
I have already submitted the application to Manchester Business School on 20th Nov. Waiting for the outcome of the Adcom's decision on my application. Keeping my fingers crossed for getting shortlisted at MBS too.
Currently I am working on application for Cranfield MBA, I did take the profile assessment from Cranfield before applying. Let us see what happens.
Next in line would be Cambridge. One of the renowned university (I have heard its name since childhood for humanity, and economics courses). Good to see Cambridge has started MBA course.
I think I will stop here for a while to see where do I land by January, I will then take a decision of applying to further any school or not.
Currently I am working on application for Cranfield MBA, I did take the profile assessment from Cranfield before applying. Let us see what happens.
Next in line would be Cambridge. One of the renowned university (I have heard its name since childhood for humanity, and economics courses). Good to see Cambridge has started MBA course.
I think I will stop here for a while to see where do I land by January, I will then take a decision of applying to further any school or not.
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Queens Interview on 7th Dec.
I have an Interview lined for Queens MBAST programme on 7th Dec. 2006. I am quite anxiously looking forward to Queens Interview as well. Recently Queens has done a tie up with ISB also for student exchange programme. The director of Queens Shanon Goodspeed was in India also during the MBA fair in New Delhi. I did not get a chance to meet her that time.
Queens has done away with their tag of MBA programme only for science and technology background. It is open to every stream from 2007-2008 batch.
Did I say that life becomes tough by applying to more than 1 school if you Land in both the schools. Which one to chose is going to be the dilemma. Especially when you love both the schools.
I am keeping my fingers crossed at the moment till the decisions are out.
Queens has done away with their tag of MBA programme only for science and technology background. It is open to every stream from 2007-2008 batch.
Did I say that life becomes tough by applying to more than 1 school if you Land in both the schools. Which one to chose is going to be the dilemma. Especially when you love both the schools.
I am keeping my fingers crossed at the moment till the decisions are out.
Photos of the Hyderabad Yahoo Group
From Left to Right, Kiran, Arun, and Hema
Starting from Left to Right, Venkat(R1), Gaju Pujari(R1), Kunal(R2), Myself(R1), Prabhakar(alias Pramoneel, R1), Sudip(R2), Arun(R1)
Starting from left to right, Prabhakar (R1), Sudip (R2), Arun(R1), Kiran (R1), Venkat(R1)
Attached are some photos of the group of Hyderabad applicants in Round 1 and Round 2 applicants.
Group Meeting at Coffee Cafe Day
We have a meeting slated today at 11:00 AM at Coffee Cafe Day on Jubilee Hills. We have formed a short yahoo group of local Hyderabad people.
I will be taking a group photo today and post it on the blog.
I will be taking a group photo today and post it on the blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
