Help me create champion team
November 2, 2010 10:46 PM Subscribe
In two weeks I'll be starting a new job (in the same organisation I work for now) setting up and managing a new team. What can I do right from the start to build a great team?
I’ve never set up a team from scratch before - generally I've always joined and then been promoted from within one – and this team’s bigger than I’ve had before. By ‘great team’ I mean one that delivers high-quality output, works well together, is motivated, and that people like to be part of.
Possibly useful background information:
The team: Ten people plus me. Five of them will be there on the first day, two more join a week later, and the remaining three at the beginning of December. Some of them have background in this area and some are new to it. I have worked with three of them before, but not as their manager. Most of the team are in their 20s and 30s, except one who is in their early 60s. Obviously they are at different levels of development and ability, but as far as I can tell (from their CVs) they are all pretty capable.
The work environment: Fast-paced and sometimes reactive. Deadlines, scope and focus can change with little notice. The team will be responsible for three areas of ongoing work, a new project, and co-ordination and QA across other teams’ work.
Me: In my 30s, have been managing smaller (2-3 people) teams in this organisation for 18 months. I’m generally a hands-off manager - I tend to delegate things to people with a deadline and a description of what I want on the understanding they can ask for help or clarification if they need it, and assume it will get done. I’m finicky about quality and integrity and I hate missing deadlines.
I’ve never set up a team from scratch before - generally I've always joined and then been promoted from within one – and this team’s bigger than I’ve had before. By ‘great team’ I mean one that delivers high-quality output, works well together, is motivated, and that people like to be part of.
Possibly useful background information:
The team: Ten people plus me. Five of them will be there on the first day, two more join a week later, and the remaining three at the beginning of December. Some of them have background in this area and some are new to it. I have worked with three of them before, but not as their manager. Most of the team are in their 20s and 30s, except one who is in their early 60s. Obviously they are at different levels of development and ability, but as far as I can tell (from their CVs) they are all pretty capable.
The work environment: Fast-paced and sometimes reactive. Deadlines, scope and focus can change with little notice. The team will be responsible for three areas of ongoing work, a new project, and co-ordination and QA across other teams’ work.
Me: In my 30s, have been managing smaller (2-3 people) teams in this organisation for 18 months. I’m generally a hands-off manager - I tend to delegate things to people with a deadline and a description of what I want on the understanding they can ask for help or clarification if they need it, and assume it will get done. I’m finicky about quality and integrity and I hate missing deadlines.
Develop a prioritized gant chart that outlines the larger projects and identifies resource constraints early. Post it publicly to your team. Keep it up to date.
In this way, people know both who is responsible for what, but also what resource constraints and project components other team members are working on. Minimize your own direct contributions as managing 10 people on something this scope means that you probably are far more of a decider and less of a doer now.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:42 AM on November 3, 2010
In this way, people know both who is responsible for what, but also what resource constraints and project components other team members are working on. Minimize your own direct contributions as managing 10 people on something this scope means that you probably are far more of a decider and less of a doer now.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:42 AM on November 3, 2010
One thing I think is important is thinking through a communication plan:
posted by jasondigitized at 5:27 AM on November 3, 2010
- How are you going to collect / distribute status? ( Excel / Email / Sharepoint? ) How often? Who is responsible?
- Are you going to have one-on-ones? How often? How will you structure it?
- Are you going to have team meetings? How often? How will you structure it?
- What tools are you going to use / prefer to use to communicate? Email, IM, Phone, Face-to-Face?
posted by jasondigitized at 5:27 AM on November 3, 2010
In addition to the helpful advice above, you want to know, as a team, what your goals are. What is your team supposed to accomplish? How does this benefit the company? What is your mission? How can we, the team, best work together to accomplish this?
I can't even tell you how important it is, IME, to have some kind of goal and common cause that everyone more-or-less agrees on. Not complete agreement (hard to get!) but enough ideas and focus in common so that everyone works well together. A sense of "we're working towards this," "we have this to offer" and "we're all in this together" helps pull people together and gives them a sense of "us" and "team" rather than "what's in it for me?" and "how can I step all over everyone to get what I want?"
How you get there is largely up to you, and how you feel it is best to set these goals. Not everyone is big on meetings, brainstorming and so on. Find a way to communicate that is best for everyone. Meetings? Email? Skype? A team wiki? There are lots of options.
Finally, have patience - most, if not all, teams take a little while to really jell. A woman I know who has 30+ years experience in group process and team faclitations reminded me once that forcing the process - "we gotta get this done NOW! Rush! Hurry!" - is counterproductive in the long run. Allowing the team to find its feet might take a bit longer but it works so much better in the end.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:31 AM on November 3, 2010
I can't even tell you how important it is, IME, to have some kind of goal and common cause that everyone more-or-less agrees on. Not complete agreement (hard to get!) but enough ideas and focus in common so that everyone works well together. A sense of "we're working towards this," "we have this to offer" and "we're all in this together" helps pull people together and gives them a sense of "us" and "team" rather than "what's in it for me?" and "how can I step all over everyone to get what I want?"
How you get there is largely up to you, and how you feel it is best to set these goals. Not everyone is big on meetings, brainstorming and so on. Find a way to communicate that is best for everyone. Meetings? Email? Skype? A team wiki? There are lots of options.
Finally, have patience - most, if not all, teams take a little while to really jell. A woman I know who has 30+ years experience in group process and team faclitations reminded me once that forcing the process - "we gotta get this done NOW! Rush! Hurry!" - is counterproductive in the long run. Allowing the team to find its feet might take a bit longer but it works so much better in the end.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:31 AM on November 3, 2010
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posted by evil_esto at 4:06 AM on November 3, 2010