In several recent conversations I was fascinated by the interest in leadership of teams and their formation. I thought: How do we prepare leaders, at the different levels in organizations, for this aspect of their role?
In most transitions from individual contributor to supervisor, little or none takes place. I take some blame for this, while I gave it some thought, clearly not enough, as what I later saw was confused, stressed, micro managers, and more. It doesn't end here, when managers climb the seniority ladder to executives and BU leadership roles they have a different transition to manage, again we forget how their teams are different, the role more complex, with a wider impact. Since 2020, we added remote-hybrid work patterns to the complexity.
What do we need to do to prepare our managers/leaders for this new team environment & needs?
How do we convince C-suite to invest in this?
How do we show the benefits and returns on the investment we should expect, lower attrition, more engagement, prepared managers who are inclusive, support their team, more opened to learning, exploring new ways & increasing organization capability and resilience?
Some suggestions:
1. A clear Vision & Strategy, the need to articulate a compelling vision & a well defined strategy to guide the organization & its teams. A clear direction helps to align the team/s, build trust & confidence in leadership
2. Recruit for Fit & Potential, of course consider technical skills but also cultural fit, leadership & growth potential. Assess candidates' ability to adapt to team's dynamics & contribute to organizational goals
3. Assess Team Leadership Capabilities, evaluate managers' capability to create, lead, maintain teams, and identify their gaps. Provided targeted training and development (build their skills in these areas: conflict resolution, communications & coaching/mentoring)
4. Role Differentiation, recognize the different leadership roles (team leader, functional leader, BU leader, or C-Suite member) each will require quite distinct skills and capabilities. Think individualized & tailored development
5. Values & Cultural Alignment, train leaders to lead and manage teams in line with the organization's values & culture. Better collaboration & engagement occurs with a cohesive team culture.
6. Assess Team Readiness, before a transition assess the team & its readiness to adapt to changes & consider team dynamics, communication patterns, individual strengths and weaknesses. Addressing these and provide leadership support during the transition.
7. Invest in Mentoring and Coaching, make these part of the leadership development & culture of the organization. Ensure leadership is human-centric in the changing world of work. Provide support to leaders as they learn to build effective high performing teams.
8. Successful transitions are essential for the organization's & its human members well-being.
(image AI generated)
Activate to view larger image,eams and Transitions: Are managers/leaders ready?
In several recent conversations I was fascinated by the interest in leadership of teams and their formation. I thought: How do we prepare leaders, at the different levels in organizations, for this aspect of their role?
In most transitions from individual contributor to supervisor, little or none takes place. I take some blame for this, while I gave it some thought, clearly not enough, as what I later saw was confused, stressed, micro managers, and more. It doesn't end here, when managers climb the seniority ladder to executives and BU leadership roles they have a different transition to manage, again we forget how their teams are different, the role more complex, with a wider impact. Since 2020, we added remote-hybrid work patterns to the complexity.
What do we need to do to prepare our managers/leaders for this new team environment & needs?
How do we convince C-suite to invest in this?
How do we show the benefits and returns on the investment we should expect, lower attrition, more engagement, prepared managers who are inclusive, support their team, more opened to learning, exploring new ways & increasing organization capability and resilience?
Some suggestions:
1. A clear Vision & Strategy, the need to articulate a compelling vision & a well defined strategy to guide the organization & its teams. A clear direction helps to align the team/s, build trust & confidence in leadership
2. Recruit for Fit & Potential, of course consider technical skills but also cultural fit, leadership & growth potential. Assess candidates' ability to adapt to team's dynamics & contribute to organizational goals
3. Assess Team Leadership Capabilities, evaluate managers' capability to create, lead, maintain teams, and identify their gaps. Provided targeted training and development (build their skills in these areas: conflict resolution, communications & coaching/mentoring)
4. Role Differentiation, recognize the different leadership roles (team leader, functional leader, BU leader, or C-Suite member) each will require quite distinct skills and capabilities. Think individualized & tailored development
5. Values & Cultural Alignment, train leaders to lead and manage teams in line with the organization's values & culture. Better collaboration & engagement occurs with a cohesive team culture.
6. Assess Team Readiness, before a transition assess the team & its readiness to adapt to changes & consider team dynamics, communication patterns, individual strengths and weaknesses. Addressing these and provide leadership support during the transition.
7. Invest in Mentoring and Coaching, make these part of the leadership development & culture of the organization. Ensure leadership is human-centric in the changing world of work. Provide support to leaders as they learn to build effective high performing teams.
8. Successful transitions are essential for the organization's & its human members well-being.
(image AI generated)
