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New employees rely heavily on face-to-face interactions and spontaneous encounters to learn the culture and workings of a company. But for new team members working remotely, the natural occurrence of that support is lacking.

New remote workers can find it difficult to access managerial support and a larger network, to find out where information is stored and know who to talk to, or to have conversations that inspire enthusiasm, creative ideas and innovation.

Without an effective onboarding process, new employees in a remote working environment risk social isolation, loss of confidence and ultimately may leave the company.

How can you onboard effectively in a remote setting?

Frouke Horstmann, Managing Partner at TPC Leadership Netherlands, recalls a friend who struggled when she started working remotely in a new post at a university. Nobody explained how things worked, and nobody checked in with her or introduced her to colleagues.

“You need to be systematic,” says Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership UK. “Start with the big picture and explain the positives and challenges of the company’s culture.” 

Introduce them to the people they need to know and help them start building those relationships. Create a network map that shows who the key stakeholders are. Pair new people with a buddy or mentor so they have access to a different perspective and an outlet to ask questions. 

“It’s important for new team members to have touch points with me, as a leader, too,” says Charles. “Not just to ask about their performance, but also about what they’re enjoying or what they find stressful.”

People are more resilient and effective if they connect with meaning and purpose. “Let them know how their input links with the rest of the company,” says Charles, “and that they’re an important cog in the machine.”

The Components of Sustained High Performance

Frouke refers to a concept that can be used as a foundation for building your onboarding plan, known as the ‘Components of Sustained High Performance’.

The four components are crucial for sustained high performance and should be embedded in the onboarding process for new employees.

Achievement — consider what you hope to achieve in the short-term, such as getting to know colleagues, and what priorities are crucial to the organisation.

Learning — clarify your preferred and most efficient way of learning. This may be through reading or regular check-ins with colleagues and leaders.

Meaning — ensure you understand how your job relates to the wider objectives of the organisation. Consider how you can best add value and what is meaningful for you.

Enjoyment — think about what makes your job enjoyable. This may include coffee calls, regular one-to-ones, or a team pub quiz.

What is the ROI on effective management of new team members?

Taking time to connect new people to one another, their team, information, key people and the purpose of the organisation reduces silo working — something TPC Leadership clients often report to be a huge challenge. 

“More cross virtualisation between people and teams fuels creativity, innovation and holistic solutions,” says Frouke. “In the end there is a greater sense of belonging and increased engagement.”

“From a leader’s perspective,” says Charles, “the quicker a new employee is able to take ownership, responsibility and prove themselves productive, the better it is for the project and the wider organisation.”

Effective onboarding takes time, but ultimately it adds value for the individual, the team and the organisation. “The slower you go in the beginning,” says Frouke, “the faster you will have results.”

Looking to get the best out of your new team members? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

 

While technology has stepped up to keep us connected through the pandemic, we mustn’t let it override basic expectations for human interaction — as the prolonged period of remote working continues, too many of us are becoming ‘Zoomed out’.

Get the most out of technology and virtual teams

“It’s important that even when we connect via technology, we connect as humans,” says TPC Leadership Netherlands Associate, Jacco Levits. To get the best out of virtual teams, you need to agree and establish a framework for expectations, both as a team and as a wider organisation. “If a behaviour is considered rude when meeting in person, it’s also rude via technology.”

Basic expectations for virtual meetings should include being on time, having mobile phones switched off, everyone keeping their camera on and making eye contact by looking at the camera, especially if you work with multiple screens. Catherine Bardwell, TPC Leadership UK Associate Partner, says that “without the camera, you loose all those human cues — body language, facial expressions — that help people understand each other and build relationships.” 

Technology is always developing. Every few weeks updates are available that allow us to try new things — break-out rooms in Zoom, for example — so it’s important to keep abreast of those developments, explains Jacco, ensuring you and your teams regularly go into settings and run available updates.

Catherine recommends varying the way you use technology. “Be creative and spontaneous to prevent interactions becoming stagnant,” she says. “Hold virtual meetings while people walk in nature or switch to a phone call for a change.”

Test your tech

Always test your technology 24 hours in advance of meetings and have a contingency plan in place, should you find the platform isn’t working or your Wi-Fi won’t connect. Check your settings to ensure your camera works and is positioned appropriately and that your microphone and speakers are functioning. Jacco suggests that “you may find your sound is clearer without a headset, so it’s worth checking to find out.”

Catherine’s tips for using your camera efficiently are to adapt your lighting so that your face can be seen clearly and ensure your background is neat and appropriate — flowers or books can be effective.

Will we go back to pre-pandemic ways of working?

Our massive move to remote working has challenged the norms of the way we work. “We shouldn’t forget that working from an office 9-5, five days a week are conventions that came out of the Industrial Revolution and carried over into service economies,” explains Jacco. “But until now we haven’t questioned them.”

The 2020 pandemic allowed us to rethink the way we work and inspired innovation and fresh thinking. But Jacco says, “There are certain interactions that work better face to face, such as creative brainstorming in groups or establishing trust when it comes to key stakeholder connections — where trust is the basis of your collaboration on a strategic level.”

“We will eventually return to some of the old ways of working, but it will be different and more flexible,” says Jacco. “Our working habits will finally be updated to suit 21st century life.”

Looking to create high performing remote teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

We face new and unfamiliar stresses every day. Whether they manifest in our work or personal life, to stay on top of our game we need to be resilient.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional challenges and uncertainty for many of us. Whether juggling work and childcare or facing the isolation of living alone through lockdowns and curfews, the need for resilience has become even greater.

The key dimensions of resilience

Catherine Bardwell, TPC Leadership UK Associate Partner and Jacco Levits, TPC Leadership Netherlands Associate, explore with us how to foster resilience using four pillars of wellbeing. Further explanation of these pillars can be found in Stephen Covey’s ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’®, which outlines four core dimensions to wellbeing: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spirit.

The four pillars in practice

“In terms of the physical element,” says Jacco, “we mustn’t underestimate how important daytime rest is for getting the best out of ourselves.” If you spend 4-5 hours in back-to-back Zoom meetings, your batteries will be drained. Plan your diary and agenda to avoid this. “You don’t need hours of rest,” advises Jacco, “but you do need to take short breaks where you can get up and move around.”

The pandemic has reminded us that we are sociable animals. “When working remotely,” says Catherine, “we need to look after our social and emotional needs and continue to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues, as this helps fuel resilience.”

Jacco suggests focusing on emotional intelligence. “Are there emotions you’re unaware of that come out unexpectedly?” he asks. “Try to look at yourself from a third person perspective and recognise those emotions in time to regulate them.”

When it comes to mental wellbeing, we can sharpen the saw by learning, reading, writing and engaging with content that stimulates our minds. But Jacco reminds us that to genuinely engage and enrich our mental wellbeing, we need to be fully present — it is all too common for multitasking to dilute the moment.

An exercise to bring your mind back into the present is to pause, switch off your devices and take a moment to notice your surroundings. Catherine explains, “I often do this on my commute, and it helps to re-energise and ground me.”

Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What’s important to you? What is your purpose? Your answers illustrate your higher meaning and the spiritual essence of who you are. “That’s the fuel that drives us through life, both privately and professionally,” says Jacco. “If you feel a lack of that fuel, search for it.”

Recognise when your batteries are running low

Catherine helps her trainees recognise that we all have a performance curve. “You are often propelled to the top of your curve by positive stress,” she says, “but we all reach a point where that energy begins to drain.”

“I know that’s happening to me when I start to rely on coffee in the afternoon,” Catherine explains. “What’s important is to pay attention to your symptoms so that you can take a break, re-energise and stay resilient.”

Looking to foster resilience in your teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

As a team leader you are in a position to create and model a work culture with healthy boundaries.

Why is it important to set boundaries?

“Setting boundaries is essential for mental health and wellbeing,” says Frouke Horstmann, Managing Partner at TPC Leadership Netherlands. In today’s technologically advanced, global business environment, work demands are high — people can spend 12-14 hours behind a screen which can lead to burnout. A 2016 report conducted by Kronos and Future Workspace revealed that employee burnout was responsible for a striking 20-50% of their annual employee turnover.

How do you set boundaries?

“As a team leader, you have a huge amount of responsibility and power to set boundaries that protect your team,” says Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership UK. “First, take a step back and review what you’re doing. Look at what’s working and what isn’t and then do a reset.” The aim is to become more effective, efficient and healthy.

Charles explains the boundaries he sets for himself. “I don’t start work early and I have a rigid routine with a clear finish time. I eat a healthy breakfast and for the first half hour of each day, I block ‘creative time’ in my diary, when I focus on creative development of one area of responsibility.” 

Frouke recalls a client who models admirable rules of engagement. The company has quiet Friday afternoons when there are no meetings. Meetings are only held between 9-5 and always set for just 50 minutes. Employees are encouraged to take time to rest and exercise. “Because boundaries are clear,” says Frouke, “people feel safe to sustain a work / life balance.”

What is your work belief system?

Charles uses a model known as ‘The Wheel of Thrive and Succeed’ to audit and reset himself, and as a discussion or performance management tool for helping team members set boundaries. The wheel consists of eight different elements:

Charles assesses how well he’s managing each element by scoring them from 1-10, then uses the scores to set targets for improvement. Frouke agrees that “it’s about making time to pause and reflect on whether you’re the most productive you can be.”

Deep dive into your own mindset and consider your belief system in relation to work. “Ticking everything on your to-do list makes you feel productive,” says Frouke. “But sometimes, taking a walk can inspire the most brilliant, unexpected ideas.” 

What is the ROI on setting boundaries?

Any change is difficult and takes energy, but the advantages of setting boundaries are huge.

“Research shows that our brains are too active nowadays,” says Frouke. “When we work all the time, we only use one part of our brain. Doing other things activates different parts of the brain, stimulating ideas, innovation and improving decision-making.”

Boundaries increase employee engagement. “If people can feel multidimensional,” explains Frouke, “if they have leisure time to be themselves and are allowed to take on deeper work as well as the to-do list, there is a much stronger sense of belonging, a willingness to contribute and an intrinsic motivation to be wholly engaged and productive when at work.”

Setting boundaries has a positive impact on retention, recruitment and marketing. Leaders who model boundaries show the younger generation that it’s possible to be a high achiever with huge responsibilities as well as enjoy a healthy, rewarding life outside work.

Promoting a culture of work / life balance reduces employee burnout at all levels. “It raises aspirations and makes people proud to be a part of your organisation,” says Frouke. “And the best marketing is what your employees say.”

Looking to create a sustainable high performing team? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

Virtual working is on the rise. Leaders must adapt management of high-performance teams to meet the needs of remote working. Catherine Bardwell, TPC Leadership UK Associate Partner, uses four pillars to explain the main challenges facing high-performance virtual teams:

1. Catering for different personality profiles

While extroverts may be suited to speaking up in the virtual environment, introverts will need more encouragement and scaffolding to share their full potential. Some personalities suffer from the lack of routine and discipline that can manifest in remote working, while others might struggle to demonstrate sufficient digital literacy to engage effectively.

2. Technology

It’s important to be open to new ideas in terms of digital technology. “Don’t shy away from using different tools,” says Catherine. “Leaders and teams need to understand how to utilise technology such as Zoom and WhatsApp at an operational level, but also consider how that technology can be used to help virtual teams to bond.”

3. Performance

It can be more difficult to get a handle on performance development when managing teams virtually. Team leaders need to focus on their team’s experiential learning but also their skills and training.

4. Building trust and intimacy

Long-distance relationships don’t always work, says Catherine, and virtual teams can suffer a similar fate. It is the job of the team leader to find ways to maintain trust and intimacy by allowing people to speak up and express themselves freely and safely in a virtual setting.

Andrea Cardillo, TPC Leadership, Managing Partner in Italy, suggests a strategy known as the CLOCKS model as a way for teams to observe and fine tune the way they work. “It can be particularly useful at board level where conversations are often content heavy — with a focus on strategy and operations — while in fact more time needs to be given to reflecting on the function, relationships, culture and dynamics of the team itself.”

The CLOCKS model

CLOCKS is an acronym for six dimensions and processes needed for a team to be successful.

C — Common goals and vision. “Ensure the team has clarity and alignment regarding what they’re doing and why,” says Andrea. “Make a clear distinction between the big picture — the organisational vision — and the team’s vision and purpose.”

L — Leadership. This isn’t only about having the right leaders but deciding on the best leadership style to drive progress in your team.

O — Organisation and governance. “Ensure clarity and a thorough understanding of how the decision-making process is structured,” says Andrea. “Governance must be appropriately leveraged and business models suitably agile.”

C — Communication routines. Some communication routines are technical, for example deciding on the best technology to facilitate meetings and operational communications. But Andrea explains, “It’s also essential to explore how we communicate to foster positive relationships and dynamics within the team — how we communicate to maintain a level of trust and intimacy, and how we handle conflict.”

K — Knowledge. Develop a thorough assessment of knowledge, skills and competencies needed to achieve the team’s goals.

S — Stakeholders Management Strategy. There can be a tendency to delegate upwards. But Andrea emphasises the importance of sharing a common responsibility and “navigating relationships together as a single entity, in a way which is aligned.”

Top tips to synchronise CLOCKS

Using a framework like CLOCKS keeps things simple. Reflect on each of the dimensions, then share and discuss them openly with your team. Andrea suggests using a 20/80 approach. Identify one area you could improve by 20% that will give you an 80% improvement in results. Prepare an action plan, work through it, and review it. Then address your next priority following the same process.

Looking to get the best out of your teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

As the impact of the first UK lockdown hit, many businesses were forced to switch, overnight, from the comfort of the traditional office environment to virtual working. For some, this was unfamiliar territory and there was apprehension about trusting remote teams to work effectively.

How do we define trust?

Patrick Lencioni, who devised a pyramid model to illustrate the five characteristics of a cohesive team, defines trust in terms of vulnerability — if team members are comfortable being open about their mistakes and weaknesses because they know they have the support of their colleagues, performance will improve.

Once trust is established as a foundation, teams have confidence to tackle conflict resolution, and this leads to a firm commitment to each other and to the team’s purpose. Then they hold each other accountable and this accountability gets results.

Why does trust matter?

In today’s workplace people need to be proactive, creative, able to take ownership and be confident in prototyping ideas. Team members need a level of openness to challenge and a willingness to co-create with others. Trust underpins all of that — unless you can win and feel trust, it’s difficult to maximise the resources you have in your team.

Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership, often refers to how our  company has worked virtually for 20 years. Part of our USP has been to offer employees the space to live their lives as they wish, trusting they will make sure clients are happy. “We don’t measure inputs, we measure outputs,” Charles explains. “I’ve only had one experience in that time where trust was given and results weren’t delivered.”

Organisations who have been thrown into virtual working because of the pandemic have had similar experiences — they had to trust their people to work virtually and consequently found they worked effectively, and in some cases exceeded expectations, without the burden of constant evaluation.

One concern for Charles is that organisations will try and leverage software to monitor people working virtually and that this will undermine the trust it can inspire. Removing trust from the core of your virtual teams risks stifling their creativity and productivity.

How to create trust

Charles explains that “trust is not a given — it takes time and effort to create it.” New teams can tend to bypass that and focus on results. But when this happens Lencioni’s pyramid is upended, and teams lose the stability and productivity that comes from the trust at its foundation.

“Remember that teams are made up of people and people need good relationships with those around them” Charles says. “It’s difficult to think beyond results, but by taking time to build relationships, you are securing the foundations of trust. The results will follow.”

“I always start off by asking everyone in the team what’s going on for them — I want to hear what they’re thinking and what they’re feeling,” Charles explains. It’s about giving employees and leaders the opportunity to share vulnerability and grow trust with each other.

Catherine Bardwell, TPC Associate Partner, recalls the impact of sharing her vulnerability as a leader at a training event. Having just received a message that a friend was passing away, Catherine had the courage to share how she was feeling at that moment. This inspired her trainees to offer deep insights about themselves as leaders and a foundation of mutual trust and growth was established.

Trust improves ROI

The bottom line is that investing in trust will positively impact your ROI. When built on trust, teams will be more functional, creative, engaged and committed. Team members will hold each other accountable and achieve better results.

Looking for insight on developing your virtual teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

If you want to be a leader who has space to be creative, you need to know your team has the commitment to take ownership and move forward with autonomy.

Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership, explains that tackling the issue of buy-in among teams helps release their full potential: “Investing time upfront to get buy-in, commitment and accountability pays dividends downstream.”

“It is the job of the team leader to get the best out of their people,” adds Peter Wall, TPC Leadership Associate. “My experience of leading teams is that the more you can let go of the micro-detail, the more people will become creative and able to problem-solve independently.” 

How do you know if you have buy-in?

“I have a few litmus tests,” says Peter. “The simplest is to look at what happens when the team leader is unavailable for a team meeting. If the team cancels it, it’s a tell-tale sign that they don’t have the commitment to be accountable.”

Peter’s second test is the degree to which people are willing to disagree publicly in a constructive way. “Harmonious interactions can often be a mask for the real conversation,” he explains. “It’s tempting to diffuse tension, but this can be counterproductive. To get genuine alignment you must recognise that it’s normal for people to disagree sometimes and okay to have those conversations.”

One way to assess the level of alignment in a virtual meeting setting is to invite people to use icons to illustrate their position. “It’s better to know if people aren’t going to buy in,” says Charles. “Identifying and discussing obstacles to buy-in allows for feedback and creativity.”

Establish operating principles

Tense situations can be difficult to navigate, so have an approved process for what happens if team members don’t all agree. This may be as straightforward as a vote, or as Peter suggests, asking, “If you don’t agree, can you live with it?” and if not, “What would it take to be able to live with it?” This approach won’t always result in agreement, but it allows for all parties to be heard, and that helps with buy-in.

Ensure you have a robust action log in place. This should detail exactly what has been agreed, who is responsible for doing it, the timeframe and what the end product should look like. “Freeing time for review and agreeing a roadmap for moving forward,” says Charles, “will also help build ownership and accountability.”

Keep constructive conversations inside the meeting

Successful teams have dynamic, open discussion within their meetings. In teams that don’t work so well, conversation may spill outside the meeting space and become counterproductive.

“Keeping conversations constructive and inside the meeting should be one of your operating principles,” says Peter. To do that, you need to establish trust and build connections, because that’s when honest conversations happen. “Move away from the intimidating notion of conflict and re-phrase the message to emphasise that it’s ok to disagree and explore other ideas, explains Peter. “It’s the job of the team leader to model that.”

Looking to get the best out of your teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

We’ve all experienced being part of a team that operates well and gets great results. But many of us may also have endured working in a team that lacks the key components to make it work efficiently. So how do you ensure that you build a team that will thrive?

What makes a successful team?

The best teams have clarity. They are clear about the purpose of the organisation and their objectives within it. Team members know what their roles and responsibilities are both in terms of the business and in terms of making their team work. Whether they are a motivator, timekeeper or they simply help the team to be practical, each member is clear about their role.

A successful team is also built on supportive, trusting relationships. Teams who have each other’s back, challenge each other in a supportive way and embrace a growth mindset will model high performance.  

The 4 pillars for setting up a virtual team

Catherine Bardwell, TPC Associate Partner, says that as a high-performance team coach, she often refers to Rubin, Plovnick and Fry’s GRPI model of Team Effectiveness. One of the first models of its kind, but still essential to understand today, the model is based on 4 pillars:

Supportive behaviour — team performance is based on frequent, honest communication. Everybody helps each other and understands how individuals work and fit into the team. A common, clear purpose is instrumental to this.

Effective process — there is clarity across the team around all processes from meetings to decision making to accountability and reviews.

Clear roles — the roles and responsibilities of team members and leaders are clearly defined. When defining roles, the best leaders play to their team’s strengths. As Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership, explains, “you don’t want someone in defence who’s really a natural striker.” 

Shared goals — team objectives are shared, and individuals understand how their performance impacts the bigger picture. Communication of goals and progress is continuous and transparent.

How can we further improve virtual teams?

It’s important to regularly revisit the ground rules. Remind people to stay on mute unless they’re speaking, keep their cameras on and agree to switch off mobile phones during meetings. Encourage teams to listen but not interrupt, to challenge ideas creatively and build on the ideas of others. Promote positive behaviours and openly evaluate how well teams adopt them.

As a leader, look at how you can pull the team together and ensure everyone collaborates. Every team has extroverts who can take up a lot of airtime, so create space for introverts to have their say by providing structured, dedicated time for everyone to speak — and time to prepare. Catherine suggests sending out the agenda in advance of the meeting.

Charles warns that regular meetings can become boring. He advocates mixing up the style and focus. Your schedule could include meetings that are purely operational, some that focus solely on innovation or that provide a space for sharing vulnerabilities. It could be a good idea to include a monthly accountability meeting followed by a forum for celebrating success. “After all, it’s so easy to just look to the next challenge without taking the time to celebrate.”

What is the ROI on a successful team?

Investing in successful teams takes effort and hard work, but Catherine and Charles believe the ROI is more than worth it. Engaged, motivated teams with a can-do attitude will be innovative, proactive and hungry for success. They will retain and attract talent, beat the competition and drive results.

Want to know more about building successful teams in your organisation? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

In recent decades, the rise of new technologies has forced organisations to reinvent and innovate. As a result, creativity has been central to producing compelling value propositions for customers, employees and different user groups. It has also been crucial in harnessing differentiation and working towards more purposeful organisations.

Neel Arya, TPC Leadership UK Associate, an expert in digital transformation, sustainability and creative challenges, says “Creativity is necessary now in terms of digital innovation and in terms of how we reduce water consumption, lower emissions and how we create more sustainable ways of working — the real zeitgeist of today.”

But in a virtual environment where team meetings can often become just reporting vehicles, facilitating creativity can be a challenge.

How can we infuse creativity into a virtual setting?

“To be creative we have to be deliberate about wanting to be creative and that requires setting up the environment,” explains Neel. “Inherently creative people — artists, musicians — have a process that tends to be incredibly structured and ordered.”

First, consider the human side to that process. You need to create a virtual space that allows people to take risks because, as Neel explains, creativity is ultimately about jumping into the unknown.

Next, define a guiding question, or a problem to be solved. Be clear about the context — why it’s important, what could happen if it’s not resolved — and unravel what it is you’re aiming for. That may be a new structure, template or system. Bring the virtual team together, invite them to answer questions, explore ideas and encourage them to co-own the guiding question.

Practical techniques

Neel suggests using the related worlds concept to aid the creativity process. “Look into different creative worlds — improvisational jazz or comedy for example — and see what can be imported back into your world. The brain tends to get stuck in ‘rivers of thinking’ when existing neural connections carry the thought process down well-trodden paths, but what we want is for people to jump into different perspectives.”

This process may happen away from the virtual setting. It’s the job of the team leader to bring the team back together to consolidate thinking using appropriate digital tools such as Mural or Miro.

Neel explains that virtual settings can decrease our humanity. That can be overcome by allowing divergent thinking outside the virtual arena, but creativity really emerges when teams are brought back together for constructive conflict and criticism. “It is this convergence that transforms a collection of bad ideas into successful creative ones,” says Neel. “Criticism is fundamental to the creative process.”

The key is to focus on creating a human, safe space where teams can explore ideas and invite criticism within structured phases. 

Looking to inspire creativity in your virtual teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

When quality decisions are made efficiently, team members are willing to actively support and engage in the endpoint. This buy-in creates a critical momentum, avoiding the sense of limbo that can linger when decision making is postponed or unclear.

What makes effective decision making in a virtual setting?

Clearly defined principles and effective decision making is particularly important in virtual settings. “If you’re sitting side-by-side you often get micro-signals that provide insight into whether team members agree or disagree,” says Peter Wall, TPC Associate. “But in a virtual setting, those signals and spontaneous opportunities to check agreement are absent.” So how can you be sure decision making remains effective?

Clarity

Before embarking on the decision-making process, a team leader must clarify expectations. Peter explains there can often be confusion as to whether teams need to take a debating approach where multiple perspectives are discussed before a decision is agreed, or if a decision just needs to be made, implemented and accepted, regardless of the degree of consensus.

“Also consider how important it is to get the decision perfectly right the first time,” says Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership. “Do you need all the information and data upfront, or should you take more of a prototyping perspective, get minimum buyable product information, take action and then move it forward when you’ve got more data available?” 

It can be tempting to make a decision and move on, but if the decision hasn’t been recorded and articulated clearly there can be a loss of momentum. Peter explains that once a decision has been made, team leaders must “clarify accountability, timescales and follow-up mechanisms” to ensure the outcome of the decision is realised.

“There’s no greater waste of time than when a decision is constantly revisited simply because someone disagreed with it in the first place,” says Peter. Be clear about what circumstances would necessitate a decision being reconsidered. If something’s materially changed, for example, there is legitimate justification for re-engaging in the debate.

Alignment

“Building alignment, buy-in and commitment is key to effective decision making,” says Charles. “Team members need to feel involved and allied with the decision in order to fully commit and engage.” 

Make sure you create enough space to check alignment — in a virtual setting this may take the form of direct questions to every team member.

The best team leaders will have strategies to handle differences of opinion — something to be expected in any team. “Create a space where it’s okay for people to have their say and articulate if they see things differently,” says Peter. Allow all opinions onto the table but be clear about mechanisms for settling division.

Timeliness

Timeliness is essential to effective decision making. “Often there’s a thorny topic hovering in the background — everyone knows it’s going to be contentious but it’s number 7 on the agenda,” says Peter. “By the time we get to it there’s not enough time, so either we deal with it badly or defer it to the following meeting.” 

Team leaders should also allow time to cater for different working styles. “While some people will turn up on the day willing to throw themselves into discussion, others will want time to think and prepare,” Peter explains. He suggests giving team members advance notice of the topic, goals and any data analysis that might drive the decision.

What’s the ROI of effective decision making?

One of the biggest sources of frustration in any team is wasting time — the notion of going round in circles and revisiting decisions. “Think about the amount of time you’d get back if you improved your decision-making process by just 10%,” says Peter. “That time can then be used elsewhere,” adds Charles, “building relationships, having fun or doing more.” 

Looking to sharpen decision making in your virtual teams? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

The best teams are diverse and boast a mix of personalities, skills, talent and competence. Effective leaders will harness that capacity and empower every team member to contribute.

Why is it important?

We all want to attract the best talent to our teams, and where possible, keep it. But the new generation are moving faster across organisations — we must accept that talent is only ever borrowed. It is up to leaders to leverage talent, on loan or otherwise, and maximise the success of the team by facilitating contributions from everyone.

How can you ensure everyone contributes?

The goal is to create a team sub-culture where people feel comfortable contributing and where contributions are expected and valued. Within that space there is a sense of psychological safety — it inspires open creativity and challenge without judgement.

Charles Brook, Founder and Managing Partner at TPC Leadership, explains Walt Disney’s approach of getting the whole team together to think of creative ideas. “Everyone had a say, but no one could judge ideas as good or bad until they were all on the table.” Only then were ideas discussed.

As a leader, consider how you manage your meetings so that everyone has space to think and speak without feeling judged. 

Catherine Bardwell, TPC Associate Partner, suggests employing rotation leadership, where in some meetings different team members are encouraged to manage the agenda and take ownership of the meeting. “This creates a new type of energy, where different personalities can speak up.”

It’s important to know your team members. If you understand the different skills, strengths and personalities of your people, you can allocate roles that compliment each other, play to people’s strengths and experiences, and leverage innovative thinking.

Charles suggests working towards an outcome together. Ask, “what is the question we need to answer?” Share the responsibility as a team here. Once you’ve agreed on the question, ask everyone to contribute their thoughts around it.

Common pitfalls when leading teams

There is a danger of subconsciously being drawn to recruit and develop people like yourself. Catherine explains that this cloning culture can lead to elitism and must be avoided. It’s important to have a variety of characters and talent in your teams.  

While as a team leader you are ultimately responsible, it is not your job to know all the answers. Charles believes that, often, not knowing the answer, being vulnerable and valuing input from others is empowering for everyone. “Be open,” he says, “and be genuinely curious about what others think.”

A blame culture restricts growth. Instead, work to instil a coaching culture where feedback is constructive and fluid, and where questions are used to inspire people to dig deeper, develop and contribute.

If a new team member is quiet and reserved, it can be easy for their contributions to be lost. Arrange one-to-one sessions where you focus on helping them find their voice. Prior to team meetings, send out questions to allow less confident people to prepare what they will say. “This sets the scene for a positive meeting,” says Charles, “one where you hear from everybody.”

If you move to a different company there may be a tendency to assume that what worked in one organisation will work in another. But every business and team is different. “Take time to research and investigate the culture in your new environment,” says Catherine. “and adapt accordingly to get the best out of those people.” 

To ensure you’re getting the best out of your teams, get in touch with our expert coaches.

Business context & drivers for the organisation to do the project

The organisation was undergoing a reorganisation and restructuring impacting different teams. The strategic marketing team leader wanted her restructured team to be reenergized, to get in touch with the value they bring to the organisation, to understand the new scope and translate this into a new vision & mission. The team needed clarity on the roles they were going to play, their responsibilities and their positioning within the new structure as they had lost scope, resources, and people due to the restructuring and were left feeling marginalised. Roles they had previously had, were now with another team. To prevent complaints resulting from confusion, and to ensure a healthy new team structure kick-off, the organisation felt it important to partner with TPC Leadership sooner, than later, even though the timing was far from ideal.

Objectives / required outcomes for the client

Interventions

In four x 2hr virtual sessions with intermediate assignments, TPCL delivered a Team Development program to 14 participants on Building an Effective Team. The participants were able to reflect on the impact of the recent changes while exploring ambitions of the team. By setting the scope and establishing parameters they were able to align their scope, priorities & processes, establishing a new team vision & mission and most important were re-energised and proud of their team. TPCL was a thought partner, taking the team leader and team by the hand, helping them navigate this turbulent change being imposed and tackling the frustrations soon in the program. As TPCL had partnered with the organisation at higher levels in the past, TPCL were consultants and intermediaries in smoothing the path to a better relationship with another team, where healthier collaboration was required, by helping them with the new ways of working together. TPCL challenged the team to embrace change even if not fully convinced by it and how to relate to the change and to question what responsibilities it would provide. The team were encouraged to voice their defined roles by creating an elevator& pitch on the value, purpose and position they bring as a restructured team, as preparation to explain their team and their roles to the rest of the organisation.

Outcomes

Based on the participant polls on how much clarity they now had regarding their roles & responsibilities and the energy boost they felt they derived from the program, there was good evidence of success. Although the team initially needed convincing about the potential of virtual coaching, being a large team of 14, and initially the participants would meet together for a full day, now not an option due to lockdowns, all were in awe at the amount  quality of output generated in the 4 sessions. The team demonstrated a strong mutual appreciation of each other & roles and much needed clarity on how to collaborate, with a renewed energy boost.

Client testimonial

“…exciting, fun, effective – we had never expected to achieve so much in virtual sessions and in such a short time!”

“what an amazing job you did with these sessions. I am totally bought into online facilitation after this. Everyone has the same air time and can express themselves, and doing it over several days helps reflect and keep momentum. I highly recommend it! ” Marketing director at client

To learn more about this case or other interventions of relevance for your organisation don’t hesitate to get in touch