The Team, You, and Your Leadership

In last week’s post I wrote about the importance of providing fair, objective, and balanced performance appraisals, career opportunities, and compensation. Yet, as a new leader how do you arrive at those decisions? What is critical to learning the strengths, shortcomings, and developmental opportunities of your new team? Those insights usually develop over time as you work together. But there is a method to know your team in short order if you are willing to invest the time.

An important conversation

The simplest way to describe a proven method to know your team members is to have a conversation. If you are the leader of a team where all members report to you, it will be a one-on-one conversation. If you have direct reports leading subordinate teams, the conversation will be with your direct reports and it will focus on their teams. Afterwards, have a subsequent one-on-one conversation with each direct report for all the same reasons. The key to learning about the team is the “conversation.”

Where do you start?

For a moment, let’s return to last week’s post focused on performance appraisals, career development opportunities, and compensation. We will revisit those important aspects of leadership, but this week I want to add individual résumés. Before meeting with your team members, ask for their résumé. Take the time to read it and assess whether past experience demonstrates a career of increased responsibility and learning or does it indicate no discernible career interest or commitment. You may find that some teammates have never crafted a résumé. In that case, schedule some time to teach them. You know from your own experience the importance of recounting important experience in a meaningful manner. Teaching someone how to write an effective résumé provides you with an opportunity to know a teammate at a deeply personal level. Don’t overlook the opportunity to coach, mentor, and teach.

Commit the time and effort

When you schedule time to meet with your subordinate leaders, provide enough time to speak about every member of their team. Let your direct reports know in advance what you want to focus on to ensure the time is well spent. If they come prepared to discuss each team member’s most recent performance appraisal, career development plan, compensation, and work history you will have a snapshot of the leader’s knowledge of their team and their level of preparation for such an important conversation.

In turn, you must come prepared to share your insights into the team’s experience and performance based on your preparation. Reading individual résumés provides a great foundation for your conversation. You may find out that you now know more about a subordinate team than the assigned leader. If that is the case, you have an insight to share in your follow-up one-on-one.

What to expect

The initial one-on-one meeting with a direct report promises to be a telling experience for a new leader. Participating in a meeting with a leader able to shape the conversation, provide meaningful information with a full appreciation of their team’s strengths and opportunities, and the ability to answer questions in a direct and forthright manner is time well spent. On the other hand, a subordinate leader unprepared for an initial session with their immediate supervisor may point to issues that merit your attention.

What is expected of you?

In those instances where your team reports directly to you, with no intermediate leadership, you must come prepared to ask meaningful, sincere, and insightful questions to shape the conversation. Reading a résumé provides only a modicum of information. Your questions will provide the depth and color to the conversation that tells a teammate of your understanding, interest, and commitment to their development and success.

Remember, this is meant to be a conversation, a give and take. Invite questions and be prepared for topics that revisit past wrongs, bad decision making, or other perceived slights that festered over time. Demonstrate a willingness to listen and, if appropriate, offer to look into the issue and then follow-up. You may not be able to provide the desired outcome, but providing a reply to their question may be more than any past leader offered.

These one-on-one sessions provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate a willingness to learn, share your leadership philosophy, or tackle a long overdue challenge. It is a chance to show that you are not one to merely “wear the hat,” but that you genuinely care about the team and its success and you are willing to roll-up your sleeves, get engaged, and work hard.

Remember, as a leader you are there to achieve and sustain success. Getting to know subordinate leaders and members of the team does not relieve you of that responsibility. Leadership positions are, by their very nature, isolated from the social interaction of the team. An awareness of the team’s strengths and shortcomings, the strengths of individual members, and the challenges confronting others enables you to serve in a more meaningful and influential manner.

The foundation of your reputation

The opportunity to meet one-on-one with team members and subordinate leaders should occur as soon as possible for a new leader. Having a conversation will prove fruitful if you come prepared to listen, converse, and learn. You may uncover untapped talent, insights, and opportunities to improve that otherwise would go unnoticed.

One of the great outcomes of such conversations is always surprising. Following each session the teammate will share their thoughts and insights about you, their new leader, with their colleagues. Each session builds upon the previous ones and predictably, your reputation is built. Take this opportunity to know the members of the team and allow them a chance to know a little more about you and your values. Allow them to learn of your commitment to the team and each of them as individuals. Give them a chance to know they can place their trust and confidence in you as you go forward together. Good luck!