Getting *Your Team* Unstuck
You've evaluated your teams’ growth, now what? | The feedback on my recently published ‘Leadership Steps’ growth evaluation tool was overwhelmingly positive and insightful (thank you!). It is gratifying to know this tool is helping many of you see that your leadership path is easier to navigate with a roadmap to assist.
For those requesting guidance on how to help the people you lead become unstuck, please know that navigating this path requires a customized, strengths-based plan.
Strengths indicate an individual’s natural capabilities, potential shortfalls, and personal fulfillment drivers, which tie directly into inherent behaviors. Strengths also provide great insight into how individuals need (and like) to lead and be led. You can measure strengths through various tools - my preferred tool is Gallup CliftonStrengths.
Getting your team unstuck centers on three core principles: know your strengths, know your teams’ strengths, and develop a win-win coaching plan.
1. Know your strengths. The best way for you to lead others is through a baseline understanding of your strengths.
If you are an individual with high Developer or Learner strength, you lead best by taking others under your wing and encouraging incremental improvements. Be certain to “qualify” those you invest in to ensure the individual is interested in being developed before you pour time and effort into others.
If you are an individual with high Strategic-thinking and/or Influencing talent you tend to lead best in more hands-off environments with a ‘push' style of leadership. You can promote change through measurements as well as through others who can provide monitored checks and balances.
If you are an individual with high Relational and/or Executing talent you tend to lead better one-on-one with a ‘pull' style of leadership. You can provide frequent check-ins and hands-on direction to those looking to be led.
Naturally, most leaders ask at this point, "Which leadership style, 'push' or 'pull', is more effective?" The answer is: It depends on who you are leading. This takes us to the next critical principle of getting your team unstuck: knowing your teams’ strengths.
2. Know your teams’ strengths. Understand the personal motivators and appetite for growth of the people on your team who are stuck.
Individuals on your team with high Executing and/or Strategic-thinking talent prefer 'push' style leadership. They are motivated by goals and metrics and thrive when they have autonomy.
Individuals on your team with high Relational and/or Influencing talent prefer 'pull' style leadership. They are driven by encouragement and feedback and thrive when they have trusting relationships with their colleagues.
Potential curveballs: Understanding your teams' strengths may uncover that an individual is content (not stuck) in their growth. It is important to honor consistency and longevity as a valuable path. Understanding your teams' strengths might also uncover a mismatch in an individual's talents vs those required by the role they are in. (You can read more about how to avoid this in my upcoming article).
The core principle tying this together is developing a win-win coaching plan.
3. Develop a win-win coaching plan. Create a strategic approach aligned with your strengths and your teams’ strengths.
Compare your leadership style with the motivators of the person you are leading. Are you a 'push' style leader overseeing someone who is 'pull'-motivated or vice versa? How can your strengths deliver on your teams’ needs?
Compare your communication style with the style of the person you are leading. Are your meetings and conversations effective? Have you identified a method that meets your expectations as well as the individual’s abilities?
Meet the team where they are. A successful coaching plan must resonate with the person it is intended to impact. Great leaders meet their team where they are, rather than expecting the team to stretch and rise to meet them.
YSA Key Recommendations:
Utilize the Steps of Leadership tool to evaluate where you are in your individual leadership development journey. Print and keep easily accessible.
Extend the Steps of Leadership tool to evaluate where the members of your team are within their individual leadership development journeys. Print and refer to prior to one-on-one meetings.
Create a customized strengths-based plan to get your team unstuck: know your strengths, know your teams’ strengths, and develop a win-win coaching plan.
Scale this practice to identify the dominant and dormant strengths of the team as a whole and adapt your leadership style to meet their motivators.
-Need any additional tips to get started on your teams' customized strengths-based plan? Schedule a complimentary zoom here.
-Interested in sharing this information with your leadership team? Schedule a one-hour, live webinar here.
