I spent a day last week with a team that has made great progress in their trust and respect for one another—so much so that team members have engaged in the proverbial “ditch to ditch” overcorrection by going from everyone being in everyone else’s business to now staying too far out of each other’s way.
Why have a team if you’re just going to go it alone?
The group I was working with was an intact team of executives from within one division of a large organization. They were facing an issue with a process that wasn’t working. They hadn’t made much headway, so they used our session to talk about what was going on.
“Who owns this issue,” they asked. After some discussion, they seemed to agree that Ruth owned the issue, as it fell within the purview of her department. The role clarity was a good sign. What came next also seemed positive.
From one of Ruth’s colleagues, Paul, came the reassuring comment that he trusted Ruth to get it done. Heads nodded in agreement.
Ruth, for her part, felt a strong sense of obligation to come up with a solution that she could present back to the team. She didn’t want to come to them until she had an answer.
Trust in a colleague—sounds good. Strong sense of personal accountability—that’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Well, yes. Trust and accountability are critically important on teams. But here’s why I was concerned: They were missing the real and important value that the team could and should add in this situation. Ruth being able to handle the situation on her own had become a proxy for her competence and reliability, which made it difficult for her to seek out direction and guidance from her team—or for them to offer support and direction. It was an honest mistake on everyone’s part.
What they missed
A leadership team (a team made up of leaders of departments) has a unique and important role to play as work is delegated. Taking it out of the equation is a bad idea. If you’re in this situation, don’t think that an interjection from the team is a sign that the accountable team member doesn’t know what they are doing. And if you’re on the hook, don’t feel that it’s your job to handle the situation without input from your team. Both of those assumptions miss the point that the team has value it should be adding—even if the person who is accountable is a superstar!
So many projects are sent down the chute with no context or direction. Leadership teams need to add more value; not in micromanaging or doing the work by committee. Instead, leadership teams need to add value by setting the context, scoping the project, highlighting interdependencies, and defining success. Making sure this happens before a project starts greatly reduces the risk that it will go off the rails.
The team I was working with came away with greater confidence in the role the team could play in the issue—and everyone seemed a little relieved that they could crack the important issue together.
Your team needs to have a discussion about its unique value too. It might prevent someone from trying to go it alone when the better choice is to let the team contribute.
Further Reading
New Year’s Resolution: Resolve to Add More Value on Your Team