I spent this entire week in Santiago de Chile, working with some really great people. While the main objective of the trip was to communicate about the project with users and learn about their current state processes, I ended up getting a lot more than what I was expecting.
I learned a ton about the company, and their processes, but more importantly, I learned about the dynamics of the group: I had the rare opportunity to observe as they interacted in scheduled group sessions as well as how they interacted in their normal day to day activities.
As the manager for this project, this insight is invaluable!
Understanding the people is an understated but extremely important factor in leading successful projects and teams.
This is not a new lesson for me, but this trip reiterated and expanded on what I already knew: people have their individual needs, fears, goals, perceptions, preconceptions and approach; and understanding what they are and how they complement or conflict with each other is essential to leading a successful team.
When I got my first management job, I sought out my mentors for advice on how to prepare, and approach the new challenge and they gave me tons of things to think about, books to read (e.g.: The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins was one of the best!) and on common advice I received from all of them was regarding the importance of taking time to understand the people, the team.
We are all individuals, and when we come together in organizations and teams, our individual needs can and often will clash. Maybe my style comes from my culture and upbringing, and working with someone from another culture and background may not be easy at first, but diversity is amazing and drives innovation, so finding a way to mesh the two can and would definitely be an advantage.
As a leader it is your job to get to know your people. When I say "get to know" I'm not talking about knowing their names and where they sit; I'm also not talking about meeting their family on Sunday for lunch; I'm talking about a place in the middle of that spectrum, where you genuinely get to know the person's values, motivations, and expectations without overstepping the boundaries of a professional relationship, but also breaking the barrier of a superficial relationship.
Be aware! I'm not talking about being fake and pretending to get to know people to just obtain information and manipulate it to support your own agenda. THAT'S NOT IT!!
I'm talking about building relationships, establishing two-way trust and leveraging the knowledge and respect to position the person in the most ideal role that will benefit the team, the bottom line, and most importantly the individual.
The way I tend to approach this whole idea is two-fold:
1) AWARENESS - by simply being aware of the important of understanding people and making an effort to try to see the world through their eyes.
2) INTENTIONAL and SITUATIONAL Leadership - when I get to learn more about people, and start to build relationships and trust, it is my responsibility as a leader to be intentional about my actions and build a team that respects people's needs and takes advantage of individuals' strengths. It is also my responsibility to know that each person is different and every situational deserves a targeted leadership style.
If I understand what makes them tick, then I will be better able to predict how they may react to certain circumstances, tasks and other people, and as a leader I will be better prepared to assist in mitigating the impact, coaching the person through situations, managing my reaction and planning accordingly.
Oh, and this is what they referred to as a "Win-Win-Win" situation: people are more engaged when their needs are met, higher engagement leads to higher levels of productivity, performance and innovation, which in turn leads to a positive impact to company results, and all of that equates to the best results a leader could deliver!!
Studies have time and again shown the correlation between employee engagement and companies performance. A Gallup study shows that engaged companies outperform their competition: http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/163130/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx
I will echo my mentor's advice, and close this post by saying that while it may be uncomfortable, difficult and you may say you don't have time for it... You must make time to get to know your people and take your responsibility as a leader serious to transform a group of people, into a high performing, highly engaged team! Build relationships based on trust, and foster people's strength to deliver successful results!!
Till next time ...
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