{"id":124664,"date":"2024-03-13T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T17:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=124664"},"modified":"2024-03-22T13:32:18","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T17:32:18","slug":"how-to-build-an-effective-team-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-build-an-effective-team-5\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build an Effective Team: 3 Steps From Scaling People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you know how to build an effective team<\/a>? Is your current team failing to work cohesively?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire Hughes Johnson recognizes that the work isn\u2019t finished after you\u2019ve hired the best candidates to round out your team. On the contrary, you must take active steps to integrate these new employees successfully into the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s examine three steps that Hughes Johnson recommends for building and sustaining effective teams<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Step #1: Evaluate Your Team Members<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Business expert Hughes Johnson relates that the first step toward learning how to build an effective team<\/a> involves assessing your team members<\/strong> to see whether they\u2019re capable of meeting their goals. To do so, she advises that you utilize Max Landsberg\u2019s skill-will matrix<\/em> to assess team members along two dimensions: their competency for completing their tasks (skill) and their drive to do so (will).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Landsberg first presented his skill-will matrix in The Tao of Coaching<\/em><\/a>, a guidebook for managers and leaders looking to become more effective teachers. In his book, the skill-will matrix is one of a handful of simple techniques that, according to Landsberg, are essential for becoming a master<\/a> coach. For example, he recommends using the \u201cGROW\u201d model during coaching sessions, in which you set a goal <\/em>at the onset of the session, refer to concrete examples as the reality<\/em>, consider the options <\/em>that your employee might implement, and finally wrap up <\/em>by committing to a plan for improvement.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With respect to skill, Hughes Johnson notes that there are two possibilities. First, it\u2019s possible that a team member will have too little<\/em> skill, in which case she recommends either training the team member or hiring new team members who already have the requisite skills. Second, it\u2019s possible that a team member will have too much <\/em>skill, such that their tasks will bore them because they\u2019re insufficiently challenging. In this case, she advises that you shift your team\u2019s goals so that they\u2019re more demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: For managers looking to continue increasing their employees\u2019 skill level, Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness\u2019s advice in Peak Performance<\/em><\/a> may help. Stulberg and Magness argue that increasing skill requires partaking in challenges at the edge of one\u2019s comfort zone<\/a>\u2014that is, activities that are challenging enough to stimulate growth, but not so challenging that growth is impossible. Thus, as a manager, you should find ways to continue encouraging your employees to engage with the edge of their comfort zone, such as by assigning them increasingly more difficult tasks.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With respect to will, Hughes Johnson says there are two analogous possibilities. First, a team member might have too little will, leading them to work inefficiently. If that\u2019s the case, she suggests that you try to reorient the team member around the team\u2019s mission. For example, if you were managing a marketing team for a healthcare company, you could remind unmotivated team members of your mission to (say) provide affordable healthcare for low-income families. Alternatively, a team member might have too much <\/em>will, which Hughes Johnson warns can lead them to set unrealistic expectations<\/a> that they can\u2019t meet. In this case, she recommends explicitly setting expectations so that team members aren\u2019t setting themselves up for failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Although Hughes Johnson writes as if motivation comes before <\/em>successful work, Jeff Hayden argues otherwise in The Motivation Myth<\/em><\/a>. According to Hayden, we typically think\u2014like Hughes Johnson\u2014that strong initial motivation spurs us toward hard work and therefore success. However, he contends that the opposite is true: Motivation is generated after <\/em>you\u2019ve implemented a plan for success<\/a> and begun working toward it. Thus, instead of explicitly trying to motivate low-will team members, you might consider helping them take a first step toward greater success in order to build momentum\u2014and thus motivation.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step #2: Decide When to Delegate Tasks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hughes Johnson contends that, after you\u2019ve assessed your team members\u2019 competencies and motivation, the next step is to start delegating assignments centered around your team\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For context, she explains that managers who delegate tasks too frequently<\/em> or too infrequently <\/em>risk harming the teams they\u2019ve built. On the one hand, when managers delegate tasks all the time, they often overwork their teams and place too much responsibility in employees\u2019 hands too quickly. On the other, managers who never delegate tasks run the risk of taking on too much work and leaving their team members insufficiently challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To strike the perfect balance, Hughes Johnson suggests that you evaluate every task along two dimensions\u2014its consequences and its reversibility\u2014and only handle tasks that you can\u2019t afford to mess up (those with serious, irreversible consequences)<\/strong>. For example, if wealthy investors ask for a presentation on your company to decide whether to invest, the presentation itself would have crucial ramifications with no opportunity for a do-over. In such cases, the stakes are high enough that you should perform the task yourself. But, according to Hughes Johnson, you should delegate all other <\/em>types of tasks to your team, because such tasks are good learning opportunities for them and also because delegating them affords you more time to focus<\/a> on higher-stakes tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical Advice for Managers<\/a> When Delegating Tasks<\/strong>

Although Hughes Johnson offers a means to decide whether <\/em>to delegate a given task, she doesn\u2019t offer concrete strategies about how <\/em>to delegate a task\u2014for example, how to decide who should work on it and how to communicate the nature of the task. To that end, business experts offer a range of practical tips<\/a> that supplement Hughes Johnson\u2019s advice. For example, you can: 
Delegate tasks in accordance with your employees\u2019 strengths and weaknesses. For example, don\u2019t ask an introverted team member who struggles at public speaking to give a crucial presentation.

Establish a clear means of communication (whether via email, instant message, or face-to-face) so that you can easily check in about your employee\u2019s progress. Accept that your team members will occasionally fail, since failure is an essential part of the learning process. Acknowledge when your team members succeed at their delegated tasks so they feel appreciated.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step #3: Develop a Healthy Team Environmen<\/strong>t<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After you\u2019ve started delegating work to your team members to tackle key projects, Hughes Johnson\u2019s final step is to continuously<\/strong> develop a healthy team environment that establishes a safe culture of open expression and trust<\/strong>. According to Hughes Johnson, there are two primary modes of establishing this environment: offsites, which are multiple-day events that take place outside of the office, and regular meetings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you know how to build an effective team? Is your current team failing to work cohesively? Claire Hughes Johnson recognizes that the work isn\u2019t finished after you\u2019ve hired the best candidates to round out your team. On the contrary, you must take active steps to integrate these new employees successfully into the team. Let’s examine three steps that Hughes Johnson recommends for building and sustaining effective teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":124698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,14,30],"tags":[1427],"class_list":["post-124664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-management","category-work","tag-scaling-people","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Build an Effective Team: 3 Steps From Scaling People - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A team that works together creates a company that succeeds beyond expectations. 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