Team Leadership - The Importance of Aligning the Team to Achieve Goals - By: Kate Tammemagi

Success in the role of the Team Leader, at any level, is measured by the performance the Team. The effective Team Leader knows that developing a high performing Team involves many Leadership skills, people management competencies and effective use of Leadership processes. There are some fundamental building blocks that must be worked on by the Team Leader on an ongoing basis. These building blocks influence motivation, performance and the drive to achieve high performance.

The Importance of Aligning the Team
One of the most important of these building blocks is aligning the focus of the Team and Team members in a way that will enable, rather than disable, them to achieve their goals. This will affect motivation, performance, and job satisfaction.

Think of a group of footballers on a pitch. The high performing Team is totally aligned to their purpose - long term purpose and their purpose today. They know exactly what the game is all about, they know the rules of the game and they will know when they have won or lost. Each player knows their role, and they know how that role impacts on the overall aim of winning the match. Their effort counts and extra achievement counts more.

But more than that, the whole Team knows what the objectives are this year, and where they are at the moment in terms of achieving those objectives. They know when to celebrate milestones, and when to dig deep and increase performance. They share the satisfaction of digging themselves out of a hole and coming out on top.

This is what motivation and job satisfaction is all about, and this is what the effective Team Leader is re- creating in the workplace.

The Results of Not Aligning
Most of the issues with poor performing teams can be traced back to lack of alignment. Compare that high performing team with a group of athletes who have been told to move the ball round on a field, but they have not been told what the game is that they are playing. They soon lose interest in moving the ball, and far from being motivated, they can quickly become frustrated and annoyed. The same is true of the Team in the workplace.

The Key Elements of Alignment
Each Team Member needs to know what game the Team is playing, how they can win and what impact his or her effort will make on the shared effort of the immediate Team and the wider Team of the Organisation. The good Team Leader is working on this constantly with each Team member and with the whole Team - monitoring the alignment levels and working at improving factors that dip.

It is useful for the effective Team Leader to have an alignment checklist, so that they can assess the current state of play of their Team, and identify which areas of alignment to work on.

The factors that the Team needs to know, internalise and have a shared understanding of are -
1. The Purpose of the Organisation. What is the purpose of your Organisation? Who are your Customers? What is your Role with your Customers?

2. What are your Organisational goals this year? How will you achieve this, what is the strategy? The detail of this depends very much on the level of the Team, but every Team must have some awareness of this. The aim is to ensure the focus and compass of the Team is pointed in the right direction.

3. The Team Purpose. What is the purpose of this Team? Who are your Customers, internal and external? What is your role with your Customers? What is success? How will you know you have succeeded - your measures? In what way will your Team results contribute to the Organisational goals? How do you relate to other departments?

4. What type of Team must you be to achieve your Goals? How do you work together, what processes do you use, what type of values and attitudes will you have? The Effective Team Leader must be able to paint a picture of the type of Team you will be and HOW this will enable us to achieve your goals.

5. The Team Member's Role. What is their role, their targets and goals? How does their contribution impact on the shared Team goals? What is expected of them as a Team member, what contribution must they make to the Team? How will they know they have succeeded, or when they have exceeded, their Team Leader's expectations?

About the Author

Kate Tammemagi specialises in designing Leadership Skills Courses. She delivers People Management Training for Managers at all levels in Business.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Kate-Tammemagi/57937

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