Do it, and you'll be able to lead your team

Chapter 2 Choose a teammate who can be your right-hand man

A team cannot be full of top players
Most of the work starts with building a team.If you're the leader of a team, chances are you want to form a "dream team," right?
I totally understand this feeling.Because you might think, the more experienced and skilled the team members are, the higher the probability that the team as a whole will produce good results in the end.However, there is one point that must be paid great attention to by the team leader, that is:

The structure of the team must be balanced.

Let's take the example of a baseball team.In a baseball team, the No. 4 hitter is generally the strongest, with top-notch skills and stability.But what if all the players on a baseball team were top 4 hitters?
There is a saying: "One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers." Similarly, if a team has top players, then the team may not achieve good results.

In fact, as long as we think about it a little, we can understand that the more experienced and outstanding people are, the more they like to do things in their own way.In addition, such talents generally have a strong desire for personal expression, and like to be surrounded by people around them, but if they are asked to provide support or help others, they are unwilling.

It can be seen that a team composed entirely of top talents will fall into a dilemma of opinion disputes from the very beginning, and no one wants to compromise.As a result, not only could a unified opinion not be formed, members would carry out work with strong dissatisfaction with each other.In that case, how can we talk about division of labor and cooperation?
Therefore, as a team leader, when organizing a team, you need to have the ability to see through the characteristics of each member.The team needs to have "people who lead everyone forward bravely", "people who can calmly examine the whole team at all times", "people who have made outstanding contributions in the professional field", "people who can provide services to others", etc.

Maybe you have heard a leader say: "If we all recruit top talents, our company doesn't have so much money." if.The subtext is "We prefer to form a team that can maintain a balance among members, and work together to complete the work through division of labor and cooperation."

Tips for bringing a team:

A good team doesn't need everyone to be a top player.

Do not be a "leader-dominated" team
The reason for forming a team to complete the work is that "big projects that cannot be completed by one person require the cooperation of many people" and "ability that one person does not possess requires others to make up for it."

But in reality, when I organize and operate a team as a leader, I often think of myself as a "boss" to think about problems and take actions.In other words, because the sense of responsibility is too strong, I think that I must be superior to people in all fields, and choose team members from the perspective of "superior" and issue orders to them.

But when it comes to leading a team toward a goal, doing so can be counterproductive.

A team is formed for everyone to work together to complete a big job, or for members to make up for each other's deficiencies in their abilities.So, wouldn't team members be better able to make up for their own deficiencies if they are more capable than themselves?

Moreover, the team leader must have full respect when communicating with members, which is what a professional leader must do.The communication mentioned here is not "orders and instructions", but equal communication based on "expectations and requests".That is to say, the leader should not look down on the members from the perspective of looking down, but should ask the members with a humble attitude.

But to be honest, it takes a lot of courage for leaders to do this.Some people worry that if I show humility, team members may think that I am incompetent and lack authority, which will cause dissatisfaction... But I will say this: A leader who emphasizes his own in all areas " superior status", then the result can only be that it is difficult to achieve the predetermined goal, but it is more likely to cause people's hearts to be scattered.Ultimately, a leader's job is to provide an environment in which team members can better utilize their talents.

Tips for bringing a team:

What the leader has to do is to provide the environment for the players to better display their talents.

Andrew Carnegie, the "Steel King" of the United States who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries, has a very famous epitaph: "The people who are buried here are always surrounded by a group of people who are better than him."

As a team leader, when you feel confused, you may wish to think about Carnegie's epitaph.

Have dissidents on your team

Whenever there are disagreements in the team, there is a "discussion".

So what is the reason and purpose of the discussion?

Discussions are conducted to create new value.

A team consists of multiple members. When someone puts forward an opinion, we hope to hear opposing opinions or different opinions.If the former is compared to "positive" and the latter to "negative", then the process of comparing "positive" and "negative" to find a "conclusion" that satisfies both is "discussion".The conclusion drawn after full discussion must have absorbed the advantages of the "positive" and "negative" opinions, eliminated the shortcomings, and then obtained a higher level of opinion.

That's what working as a team is all about.

When a team is working in a division of labor, if a member puts forward new opinions on the previously agreed conclusions, then a higher-level discussion will begin.

As a result, the team can create new value.The starting point for creating this new value is the "objection" or "disagreement" raised by team members.

For a team to have frequent discussions about creating new value, it needs members who hold different opinions.

A leader who can often lead the team to create new value should be good at accepting different opinions, as well as being good at accepting dissidents and making accurate evaluations of them.

Tips for bringing a team:

Team members having different opinions can create new value for the team.

Be kind to the differences in personality of team members
British scholars Peter Harney and Alan Malmford divided human learning modes into four types according to their responses to external stimuli and the associations they generated.

For example, when faced with the news that the new iPad is on the market, different people will react differently.

Activist "Oops, the new iPad is here! I have to buy one quickly, and I must not fall behind." (Such people are creative and put it into action immediately, but the disadvantage is that they get bored easily and love the new and dislike the old.) Launch Pai (Reflector): "People around me are starting to use new iPads, so let me buy one too." (Such people will carefully observe the surrounding situation before making a decision, but sometimes it is difficult to make up their minds.) Theory Theorist "iPad? New technology? How much will it cost?" (Such people observe situations and analyze them theoretically. They are very rational but not very imaginative.) Pragmatist "iPad? What's the use of it ?” (Such people often analyze what benefits a thing can bring to themselves. If there is a good result, they will act decisively, but they are not good at open discussions, nor are they good at deliberation.) Friends, please observe carefully People around me will also find out, "Ah! He is an actionist. She turns out to be a theoryist..."

In the past, my team members and I have analyzed each other's genres.As a result, everyone's attitude towards people and things fully reflects their own personality, and it can also be seen that there are great differences between them.

When forming a team, the team leader should fully understand and accept the individual differences among the members, and on this basis, build a team in which the personalities of the members can be balanced and most beneficial to achieve the goal.

Tips for bringing a team:

Team members have individual differences, which is conducive to the balance of team thinking and better achievement of goals.

I personally tend to be more action-oriented and practical-oriented, so when I form a team as a leader, I will definitely find some reflective and theoretical members to join the team in order to make up for and contain my personality.

When I take the lead and move forward bravely with the initiative of action, I hope that some members can remind me: "Slow down a little bit, and take a steady step." For my shortcomings that I am not good at deliberation, I also hope that some members can help me Do critical thinking.

Compensating for each other's shortcomings is one of the benefits of working as a team.

Pay attention to the diversity of team members

Regarding the composition of team members, there is another point that leaders need to pay attention to.

That is, in terms of "gender", "life stage", "work experience", "profession", "interest" and "place of birth", team members should have diversity.

As a digression, the word "diversity" means diversity, which means that people have the right to maintain diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, etc.But in the past, people have misunderstood the term, when people negatively thought that "diversity" meant "not treating minorities differently".

Here, by team diversity, I mean more aggressively recruiting members from diverse backgrounds into the team.If this can be achieved, the ability of each team member can be stimulated to the maximum extent.Combining different insights and capabilities can increase the added value of the team.

"Members from different industries", "talent groups in different professional fields" and "people with different hobbies, habits, and religious views" will bring new ways of thinking and concepts because of differences, which provides a team with More options.

For example, if a member of the team used to be an athlete, he often uses familiar sports as an example to vividly explain the skills at work.This is a very typical example of the benefits of membership diversity.Brand-new stimuli can broaden the vision and thinking of team members and promote the progress of members on their career paths.

Diversity in the "life stages" and "work history" of team members is also important.

For example, if a member of the team has a child who just goes to elementary school, or there is an elderly person who is sick and needs to be taken care of at home, then other members must work hard to share his work, set aside time for him to pick up the child to and from school every day, or help him Apply for leave to go home and take care of the elderly.This kind of mutual care experience among team members is a valuable asset, which is very helpful to improve the cohesion of a team.Moreover, members who have not yet experienced raising children or caring for the elderly can learn relevant knowledge from their predecessors, which is also of great benefit to their lives.

If you are recruiting team members now and still stick to the conditions such as "men only", "fresh graduates are exempt", "temporary workers are exempt", "have Japanese nationality" and "know Japanese", then to be honest, I am not optimistic about your team combat effectiveness.

Tips for bringing a team:

Diversity in gender, experience, profession, interest, etc. can also improve the combat effectiveness of the team.

There must be someone who can confide in the team

One thing I pay special attention to when forming a team is that there must be a person who can confide in the members.

This person does not necessarily have to have a strong ability at the moment.However, this person must be able to understand my mind as a leader, be worthy of my trust, and have a strict mouth.

The advantage of having such a person in the team is that when I want to understand various situations, he can give me some objective opinions (in fact, it is not necessary for him to offer any constructive opinions, as long as he can tell his truth Feelings are enough).

As a leader, the things I discuss with this person are basically all about leadership troubles, such as "The way I gave instructions to Mr. A just now, as a bystander, what do you think?" or "Mr. B said so , Is there any deep meaning?"... To my question, his answer may be: "The way you spoke just now may be inappropriate, Mr. A may be angry now, which is extremely detrimental to the development of work." Or "Actually, there have been some problems in the work connection between Mr. B and Mr. C recently." This information is very important to me, and I can adjust my communication methods with Mr. A and Mr. B in time.

According to my personal experience, people who are at the same age as me, or seniors who are older than me and have more experience than me, can easily build a heart-to-heart relationship in the team.

But on the other hand, even someone who is younger and less experienced than himself, as long as he has the experience of making major decisions at work, or someone with the corresponding imagination, he can also become the object of the leader's confidant.Such people may have the qualities to lead the team in the future (as their own successor candidates), so, as leaders, we should consciously train them in this direction.

If there is a person in the team who can confide in his heart, the leader can establish his prestige and leadership position in the team as soon as possible.In addition, having such a person on the sidelines to advise, supervise and assist can also prevent the leader from feeling good about himself and acting arbitrarily.It is also conducive to the cultivation of successors.

Tips for bringing a team:

Having a person around who advises, supervises and assists can prevent you from changing careers arbitrarily.

"Mr. Nice Man" Needs to Be Watched Out

With the growth of professional experience, have you ever encountered the following situations?

"For some reason, more people have flattered me recently." "Recently, everyone is willing to come to me to discuss issues. No matter what opinions I give, they will be very grateful to me."

If you encounter a similar situation, you should pay attention.

It's because of the authority you're placed in that you're in awe of those around you.

When someone comes to chat with you, if it's just ordinary greetings, that's fine, but if it's mixed with deliberate compliments and flattery, you should be on high alert.Especially when your opinion will pass easily in any case, it means that the problem has developed to a very deep level.If your own immature judgments, conclusions that need to be explored, wrong decisions, etc. can successfully get the approval of everyone, then something big will happen.

But the point is, when you're in that state, you feel great about yourself, and if someone comes out and disagrees, you hate and alienate that person.

If the situation has developed to this extent, it means that the people gathered around you, regardless of gender, are "Yes men".

In your presence, the "nice gentlemen" will keep pace with you, but when you are not around, they will keep pace with other people in authority.

Moreover, the "nice gentlemen" do not have a common vision or goal with you, and they are only obedient to your judgments and instructions.They have no serious attitude towards work, and they will leave you without mercy if you encounter difficulties.

However, the reason for creating "good guys" and gathering them around me is 100% on me.

Please take a look at yourself. If you have encountered the following situations, it is time to review yourself.

Tips for bringing a team:

The fact that your opinion has passed smoothly in any case shows that the problem is already very big.

In the internal team meeting, those people always speak;

The dinner in the team is always attended by those few people;

Team members don't raise objections against themselves.

how about it?
shuffle appropriately

The topic of this chapter is "How to Select Team Members", but I believe that many of you, as team leaders, already have your own team and are leading the team towards the goal.

In fact, even in this case, the team leader should consider adjusting the structure of the team members appropriately.While reducing, adding, and replacing members of the team may cause temporary discord, even so, the leader's mind must always consider the matter of shuffling the team.

Working in a team with fixed members for a long time, there is a tacit understanding between the members, and the work will be smoother, but on the other hand, the work is also prone to the danger of formulating and proceduralization, and it is easy to form a negative meaning among members. The state of breathing out of the nostrils.

Fixed members work together for a long time. Due to the lack of new stimulation, members pursue local maximum efficiency in a narrow range, and use secret methods unknown to outsiders, which greatly reduces the chances of innovative ideas being born.In addition, it is difficult for such a team to cope with changes such as the emergence of new competitors, and it is even difficult to perceive the emergence of changes.Can we expect such a team to create any new value?

For a team leader, it is very important to constantly inject fresh blood into the team and consciously bring new stimuli to the organization.

Ikujiro Nonaka, of "The Knowledge-Creating Company" fame, once said that an organization can be brought alive by consciously creating "ups and downs" for it.In my opinion, "changing blood" to the team is also a kind of "ups and downs".

After replacing new members for the team, while bringing new stimulation, it will also make the team work unsmoothly in a short period of time.However, this is a necessary adjustment on the way forward.

So, as a leader, you should consciously replace members of your team.

Suppose you lead a team that has been working stably for a long time. Even if one of the members has become your right-hand man, you may not be able to do without him at work, but please arrange for him to go on business trips or travel regularly and leave temporarily. This team for a while.Doing so is a good opportunity for growth, both for the team and for that member.

During that member's absence, he will have new experiences, and the team will have to adapt to working without him.When he returns again, it may bring new stimulation to the team and create new sparks. This is the starting point for creating new value.

Tips for bringing a team:

No matter how they act, the leader must understand in his heart that it is very important to inject fresh blood into the team.

Let good players "want to join the team" from the bottom of their hearts

A team leader must have thought in the face of a capable person: "I want this person to join our team no matter what."

If the leader has personnel power, the tendency to have this kind of thinking is stronger.

However, no matter how strong the leader's desire is, he cannot ignore the other party's ideas and force him to join his team in the form of "business orders".

The other party may have various reasons for "not wanting to do this project".If the team leader ignores the other party's ideas and forcibly pulls them into his team, then it is not a good choice for the person or the team, and it may lead to unfortunate results.

Even in the eyes of the other party, this job does not reach the level of "I don't like to do it", but as long as he thinks "I did this job not out of my original intention, but was asked by the leader", even if this idea is only one In an instant, his work enthusiasm will be greatly reduced.At work, he not only lacks autonomy, but also tends to shift responsibility when encountering problems. (Conversely, if there is an inexperienced novice who strongly requests: "I want to join the team!" At this time, whether to absorb him into the team is also a very complicated issue. It may be necessary to make a comprehensive and specific decision based on the actual situation. Analysis.) When encountering such a situation, the ability that the team leader must exert is to let the "people who want to pull him into the team anyway" "want to join this team" from the bottom of their hearts.

At this time, the leader should objectively explain to the other party the benefits and risks of accepting this job (or not accepting it), and express his strong desire to "hope the other party to join".

In order to make the other party accept the job willingly, the leader should even use various formal and informal relationship networks to make full preparations for persuading the other party.

Finally, don’t forget a sentence: “Ultimately it’s up to you to decide. No matter what the result is, it will not affect my appreciation of your character and ability.”

In fact, the more capable and outstanding a person is, the easier it is for him to accept other people's requests when he feels "I am needed and my feelings are valued and respected by others".

(End of this chapter)