Last Friday I worked together with a small team that coordinates worldwide sales activities for an important Italian company. It was the third time we met: the first meeting was needed to share the logic of team working, which was then used during the second meeting to check the status of the team. We came to define a dozen of things that we must not lose sight of in order to maintain a high level of engagement and performance.
These directions were then broken down into four areas:
CUSTOMER NEEDS, PEOPLE NEEDS, OPERATION NEEDS, FIGURES TO CONTROL.
I must admit, moreover, that they were all very happy to spend “yet another” 2 hours outside of the company routine.
You may ask: “What’s so strange about this?”
The fact is that the group up until a couple of months ago was seriously struggling.
The boss was not as aware of his role and was very regretful about the “poor” recognition given by his co-workers. In addition to not fully recognizing the boss, people were suffering from the professional and human abandonment that had been created. The time dedicated to the team was perceived as not very useful compared to what was happening on a day to day basis. In addition, the team, at all levels, was investing time in seeking commitment with senior leaders, to the detriment of other participants.
I could go on and on with this list, but I think you have a good understanding of the conditions in which the group found itself.
I would definitely call it a difficult situation.
After 2 months I have instead noticed a serene, cohesive team, aware of what is sustainable for each component and the leader is increasingly recognized.
The recipe?
1) Have a willingness to understand and to try;
2) Get into the game for 6 hours, maximum 10 hours over the course of a couple of months;
3) Don’t lose sight of the two axes of the system: engagement and performance;
4) Don’t be afraid to play;
5) Go all the way;
6) Live the path and its continuation as a gym of Leadership and Followership useful to develop the result in the day by day and medium-term objectives.
Another team towards the SUNNY EBIT!
