GL MONTHLY e-NEWSLETTER - April 2004

Brought to you by Jeff Thoren, DVM  

Teambuilding has been widely embraced by corporate America, but different organizations have had varying results depending on their approach to implementation.  Regardless of your current situation, however, the most important consideration isn't how good you are at teambuilding now, but how good you could be.

To assist and evaluate teambuilding efforts, Mark Sanborn, an internationally-known consultant and trainer, has developed a list of 21 key questions you need to answer to make teamwork work.  I'll highlight a few of my favorites below, but you really need to follow the link and check out all of them.  Great food for thought on how to facilitate the transition to the self-managed team organizational model!

Here’s this month’s feature …

Teamwork - 21 Questions - by Mark Sanborn

From the leadership resource article archive at the Sanborn & Associates web site.

Highlights from the article:

Here are six of the 21 questions that I think are especially applicable to our Pet's Choice practices ...

• Are you involving your team members in hiring decisions?  What management considers a good hiring decision and what team members consider a good hiring decision may be dramatically different.  Involve team members in the interview process.
    

• Do team members understand the team's vision, mission, values, goals, and expectations?  These are the blueprints for your team's (i.e. your practice's) success, so team members must be crystal clear on these things!
    

• Have you started relationship building with future team members?  This is music to my ears!  Guess who's responsible for finding and recruiting new team members?  The team leader and the team itself.  I can help you and be a valuable resource but the ultimate responsibility for building a winning team is yours.  Some day you're going to lose team members.  When this happens you'll need to have potential replacements identified and, if possible, already thinking about joining the team.
    

• Are you holding regular team meetings that participants find worthwhile?  Regularly ask members to assess the effectiveness of team meetings.  Make sure your meetings are interesting, entertaining, and motivational instead of just being a "data dump."
    

• Do team members feel well informed about news of the larger organization?  It's important that teams don't operate in a vacuum, but that they understand how they fit into the big picture and how they impact the organization's performance.  Top leaders, managers, and others outside the team should be utilized as resources.
    

• Do team members feel there is a linkage between individual success and team success?  Do you reward people and recognize them, not just for what they accomplish, but for their contribution in helping the team accomplish its goals?  This linkage is critical and must be present if teamwork is going to work.

For the full text article, go to . . .
http://www.marksanborn.com/store/Teamwork_-_21_Questions.asp

You should also check out two other articles while you're there:  1) Sanborn on Teamwork and 2) Teamwork in 50 Words or Less

How to Create the Unbeatable Team

Whatever the industry, great leaders share basic qualities.  In his book, Think Like a Champion: Building Success One Victory at a Time, Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan shares his insight into principles of creating a winning team on, or in, any field.  Here is Shanahan's 15 point game plan for winning teams:

1. Teams matter more than individuals

2. Every job is important

3. Treat everyone with respect

4. Share both victories and defeats

5. Accept criticism

6. Keep the boss well-informed

7. Focus on your work ethic, not others'

8. Allow for differences in lifestyle

9. Be more creative than predictable

10. Let go of failed ideas

11. Employ structure and order

12. Reward those who produce

13. Find different ways to motivate your employees

14. Keep your employees fresh

15. Protect your system

Great advice!  How do you measure up?

Source:  Leadership Advantage Newsletter, Vol. 7, Issue 2 by Joe Farcht

To subscribe: send an e-mail to jeff@giftedleaders.com with the word, SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.  Please feel free to pass this e-newsletter along to your friends and family.