This week at Wundamail HQ, we’ve been taking a closer look at how to keep teams on track. How do modern leaders monitor employees and keep projects on schedule, without creeping into micro-management? We’ve rounded up this week’s best articles on the topic, in order to grant you a fresh perspective on what it means to manage teams in 2019.
Click to Read: Twelve Things All High Performing Teams Have In Common via Forbes
Collaboration is so important for effective team function. Effective teams foster a culture of progress, innovation and evolution. According to this logic, Forbes brought together 12 key members of the Forbes Human Resources Council to discuss the characteristics of high-performing teams, and what strong leaders have in common. As a result, this article serves as a wonderful exemplar of how to secure a progressive culture within your team.
All twelve members emphasised the significance of measurement and tracking activity within high-performing teams. Without an understanding of what the goals and objectives are, a group of high-caliber employees won't likely yield a cohesive team. Rather, they will be a bunch of strong individuals heading in different directions. With defined objectives and an organized strategy, teams can effectively head in the right (and same) direction in a collaborative manner.
While great work comes with great teamwork, great teamwork only comes with accountability. Members of the highest-performing teams are accountable and hold others accountable for delivering on commitments. Teamwork is not the avoidance of accountability conflict "to keep the peace." That is what low-performing teams do.
Click To Read: The Right Way To Hold People Accountable by Harvard Business Review
In Harvard Business Review, Peter Bregman describes the five areas that need clarifying when trying to foster accountability across an organisation. Arguably, clear feedback is the section which requires the most attention.
By having clear expectations supported by a consistent message, at a regular time, through a consistent communication channel, feedback becomes inherently straightforward. It is important never to underestimate the value of visible group feedback, particularly in the context of peer-to-peer accountability.
Incorporating feedback into your team’s daily will naturally make for a more inclusive, proactive environment. Wundamail allows leaders to keep tabs on progress, while giving team members are given the space to articulate and execute their own ideas.
Click to Read: Fall into Focus: Use The End of Summer to Reset via Forbes
In this article, Naz Beheshti propounds the idea that Autumn should be viewed as a positive reset, rather than a mourning period for the last glimmers of the summer. Of course, the appeal of the summer season lies within its leisurely pace, but with that comes a loosening of our grip on business objectives. September offers us the chance to reconnect with our focus and higher purpose.
Admittedly, all leaders need downtime to recharge and to remember that our work is not the ‘be all and end all’. That said however, there is no substitute for new, challenging experiences that test our ability and resolve. As we return to work in the autumn, it’s important to establish a sense of gratitude for those challenges, and for the process of trying to find the best in ourselves and our employees.Take the time to settle back into your routine. Appreciate the challenges and opportunities ahead. Finally, above all, pay attention to what fuels your energy and focus.
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