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Career Q & A
By Alan Kearns
August 2, 2005

As a new director, I am responsible for hiring and managing a larger team. Are there some best practices that you have observed for building strong productive teams? T.S., Montreal

Congratulations on your new role, you were obviously promoted into this role as a result of the success you had in your previous position. One of the key attributes in taking on this new area will be your ability to adapt to a new set of circumstances and challenges. First of all, I am impressed with your willingness to be open and reach out for help. Often a new director will sense that they need to have all the answers and solutions to the issues that are going on in your current situation. Asking the right questions to the right people will be a key in a successful transition. The first piece of advice I would give you is to find a set of advisors that you can reach out and discuss issues with. I would look for advisors from within the organization and outside the organization. I would also look for a range of experiences and skill sets on your "team" and, people that you trust. Most healthy organizations have a strong working board, you should also be using this new role as a launch pad to developing this group of people you can go to with issues for an outside perspective as you evolve in this role.

The second key of a great leader, is the ability to hire and develop successful teams. The Gallup Organization interviewed 80,000 managers in 400 countries to determine what some of the best managers do, and what key mistakes are made.

The results are documented in a book called First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (Simon & Schuster, 272 pp.). According to the study, many managers make two key mistakes:

1. They assume that each person can learn to be competent in almost anything.

2. They believe each person's greatest room for improvement is in their weakness.

Great managers, however, do not help people overcome their weaknesses so they can do a competent job, because competency does not lead to excellence. Which would you prefer, a "competent" surgeon or a great surgeon?

Identify what core competencies you have on your team, and where the gaps are. As you mould and develop your team, work diligently at having your key people in the right roles. Don't be afraid to bring in experts from other parts of your organization, or even from outside the organization, to fill in the gaps -- and do it sooner rather than later.

It can be dangerous to focus on improving an individual's weaknesses. This can take an enormous amount of energy on the part of both you and the person you are managing. This could put your project at risk.

Obviously, we all can improve; encouraging a strengths-focused philosophy, however, increases the likelihood of success and is much more profitable and enjoyable for all involved.

The third piece of advice for you is to not forget the "fun" factor. Implementing change is both challenging and risky, remembering this is not life and death and keeping things is perspective will be one more key in your transition.

Alan Kearns is the Head Coach and the Brand Champion! of CareerJoy. He is one of Canada's foremost experts on all things career. With more than 14 years of experience coaching people through successful career changes, he brings an intimate knowledge of the entire transition process to all of his clients. To contact Alan about paid professional services, e-mail alan@careerjoy.com or visit his web site www.careerjoy.com.
To submit a question for a future column, please e-mail it to careercoach@charityvillage.com. No identifying information will appear in this column.

Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.

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