LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE #10: TRAIN YOUR PEOPLE AS A TEAM
While your team is composed of unique individuals, those individuals share one thing: You are their leader. They are part of your team. As the leader, it is your responsibility to ensure they are trained to work as a cohesive team, one unit and when need be they should know how to do the basic (rudimentary) functions of the other team members. Knowing the basic functions of the other team members is not for replacing them but to fill in the gaps when employees call in sick or the organization is transitioning between team members.
Training as a team creates esprit de’corps and enhances unit cohesion. Your team will develop a feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty because they have shared experience(s). Having those shared experiences creates a team so strong, so empowered, and ready to be more effective than any other group in the organization that has not taken the time to train together.
Obviously, a leader will have to allow the individuals to attend training specific to their vocation in order to remain proficient and excel at their day-to-day operations and functions. However, when those employees return to the team, have them share what they learned with others.
A highly informed is team is a highly functional team. A highly functional team is a highly performing team. A highly performing is a team that is delivering and making huge impacts on the organization’s mission and vision. As a leader, who would not want to be leading a cohesive team that is making an impact on the organization? Be that Leader!
Thanks,
David G. Guerra, M.B.A.
Do you agree or disagree with this list? Let me know either by
Twitter @daveguerra or by email [email protected] or both.