What is your definition of success?
The definition of success is very subjective. My definition of success may be completely different from yours and yours may be different from someone else’s. This subject creates confusion and frustration when working with others.
There are many variations of leading a team to joint success. Let’s look at two:
Approach to Team Success A:
The leader clearly defines the tasks, their importance, constraints, objectives, optimal timelines, and budgets…you get the point. As a leader, you could define and drive the entire process in alignment with what you specify will be the success.
This leadership style places a considerable burden on the leader when they begin delegating, requiring them to stay on top of every step with each person.
Approach to Team Success B:
This approach would be focused on including the team in the process. Solicit their suggestions, definitions of success, and generate ideas for best practices or processes. In some cases, this will take more time. Getting a group of people to collaborate in alignment takes some practice, trust, and patience from all.
The benefits of the second approach not only distribute the work and responsibilities but enhances the team dynamic. What does that mean? The members of the team feel heard, included in setting the goals, bought into the objective, trusted by their leadership and teammates, and excited to do their part to be successful for them, the team, and the organization.
The longer-term benefit is that this team is learning about each other, their definition of success, their strengths and weakness, and their willingness to be team players. You may not have the perfect combination of people on the team the first time around, but by including them in the process, you will more quickly learn where you have areas to improve.
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