Leading your Team in a Complex Organization

It's all well and good to learn leadership skills if you're the boss of a small business, or otherwise have complete authority and position power over everyone else.  In such a position you aren't guaranteed to lead well or command the respect and motivation of your followers, but at least you have the advantage of formally being the one one top.

"I OWN YOU!"

But most of us work at one level of a larger organization, where there are not only those below us but people in several layers above us.  How do we manage to carry out organizational and individual goals when our power is not absolute?

*you are here

You can manage up- using influence and persuasion to help shape the views and actions of those above you. You can also practice image management where you consciously help shape others' opinions of you.  If you lead a team, you can help make that team one of the strongest and most effective and motivated in the organization.

Actions that a leader can take to foster teamwork, using only their own resources, include:

• Define the team's mission and tasks- Everyone wants to know answers to the same basic questions: What are we doing here?  Why are we a team?  Where are we going?  What are the steps to get there?  What is expected of me, both individually and as a member of the team?   People rise to expectations, and if they are not set, then everyone is left to their own devices to try to figure out the goals of the group and where they fit in.
• Establish a climate of trust- This means as a leader you walk the talk.  Speak clearly and stick to your word.  A culture is top-down and this will set the tone for your group.  In addition, convey to your team members your confidence in their intentions and motives and the sincerity of their word.  If you are proven wrong, so be it, but begin from a position of trust.  Honor confidences.  If your team members know that they can come to you in confidence and what they say won't be let out or held against them, their loyalty will increase.  Focus on solving problems rather than assigning blame when something wrong happens.  Finally, admit mistakes.
• Develop norms and expectations of team behavior, including bolstering team members' emotional intelligence skills.  You can take this as far as going through team role training, where everyone finds out what the ideal team composition is, and what role they excel at.  After this type of training you may even see an increase in the team's ability to manage itself.  
• Share power- pay attention to who can wisely take on more responsibility and don't be afraid to give power away- it's one of the few things you get more of by giving away!
• Establish and nurture a team identity and foster healthy competition with another team (the key word here is "healthy"!)
• Lead by consensus and not absolute power- get team members' opinions on upcoming decisions and inform them of the pros and cons of each decision.  This doesn't mean that everything is decided by vote, or that everyone is happy in the end.  It means that you took the time to inform them, ask them what they thought, and weigh their perspective.
• Encourage "inside jokes" and jargon- every culture has its own language, humor, and customs.  While you don't want to ostracize outsiders, a little inside humor- even something as simple as affectionate nicknames- can help build a stronger team.
• Don't micromanage- This gets back to the trust issue.  Give your team members goals, and let them achieve them.  You don't have to check in every step of the way.  Manage them by objectives, not by micro-tasks.  Of course, this depends on the level of skill of your team, but in general, trust people to do what you ask of them until proven otherwise.  Part of this is making yourself available and approachable so that if they do encounter a problem, they will come to you early and often to help resolve it.  If you are distant and imposing, you may not hear of an issue until its blown out of control.  

This may seem like a simple list, but each one of these takes dedication and commitment on your part as the leader.  More so if you have already set the tone differently in your group.  But these are ways that you can increase the efficacy, efficiency, and atmosphere of your immediate group.  Who knows- you may even end up having more fun doing it.

Go Team!