How do I get my team in action?
This is a question I often get during my coaching sessions. It is often raised by very experienced professionals who are leading a project team.
When I started as a project leader I worked very, very hard. I defined the strategy, shared my vision, made a plan, worked out a lot of details and presented it at the team meetings.
People listened, but there were hardly any questions raised. No in depth discussions. No counter proposals. No brainstorming. No follow-up on actions. No progress….
What happened? Were my instructions not clear? Did they not understand their responsibilities? Where they overloaded with work? Where they lazy?
At some point I realized that the more I did, the less active they became.
I prepared so much in advance….that there was no point for them to contribute.
So, I leaned back and put my “team leader” hat on and make optimal use of the skills and knowledge of my team members. That is when the team started to work!
Do you also want to get better at this?