1 – Build trust
2 – Coach
3 – Collaborate
4 – Don’t micromanage
5 – Focus on key results
6 – Get in sync
7 – Have the right skills
Build trust
Psychological safety – never punish someone for admitting a mistake, asking a question, or offering a new idea.
Just Listen – make people feel understood; show interest and consideration.
Be inclusive – make sure everyone feels part of the team, particularly remote team members.
Show integrity, fairness.
Manage “moments of truth” and conflict – always stay calm, apologize sincerely.
Be good at your job.
Coach
Support and challenge so that team is in “Flow”.
Praise often and in public, criticize in private.
Give actionable feedback in a timely manner.
– Good feedback: In the last meeting (situation) you arrived 10 minutes late (behavior), that made me feel you don’t value my time (impact), next time please be on time (future recommendation).
– Bad feedback: you are always (generalizing) late, why are you so lazy? (motivation, personal).
Follow up after giving feedback.
Not about giving answers, but asking good questions: What’s on your mind?; And what else? ; What’s the real challenge here for you?; What do you want? ; How can I help? ; If you’re saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?; What was most useful for you?
GROW model: Goal – What do you want?; Reality – Where are you now?; Options; What could you do?; Will – what will you do?
Collaborate
Get to know team and adjust approach to personality. E.g.: Introvert – give time to process; Thinking – give logical reasons.
Work across cultures [cultural dimensions theory]
To work effectively with other teams, map stakeholders in the organization – Power vs. Influence.
Find Champions, Decision makers, Partners and Users. Neutralize Critics and Blockers.
Influence: To get others to do something, ask!
For one-time interactions, you can try to influence with authority, consistency, reciprocity, likeability, social proof or scarcity [Influence].
In the long run, you should find win/win situations, or at least compromise: focus on interests, generate options, and use quantitative measures [Getting to Yes].
Conflict: avoid ‘fighting’ for small issues, with powerful stakeholders, or short term interactions.
Don’t micromanage
When delegating, be clear on goals and what “good” looks like, then empower the team – get out of the way and give freedom on how to accomplish the goal – do NOT micromanage.
Define the task/goal clearly. Confirm they understand.
Define level of authority, set expectations for timing – milestones, follow-up, confirm next steps.
Provide guidance as needed, check in as agreed upon, provide feedback as applicable.
Consider the team: strengths, career goals, capacity.
Focus on key results
Set a vision, mission & goals for the team, aligned with the company.
Make sure goals, roles, and execution plans are clear.
Keep the team focused on priorities, even when it’s difficult (e.g., declining or de-prioritizing other projects).
To help make work meaningful and impactful, frame it in 5 dimensions: Personal, Team, Company, Clients, Society.
Get in sync
Make everyone feel connected (very important for remote teams and new joiners).
Team kick-off – helps align communication and working preferences.
Weekly Team meetings – Track progress of workstreams/priority ; celebrate wins!
Daily huddle – (max 10 mins for everyone) ‘How yesterday went’, ‘Goal for the day’, ‘Roadblocks’.
Regular 1on1 meeting with each subordinate.
Avoid having too many meetings – they are very disruptive for knowledge work.
Zoom fatigue compounds this issue – consider turning off video for most calls.
If it can be an email, don’t call a meeting; if a meeting is done, end it early.
Write simply and concisely, with the main idea at the start (Pyramid principle).
Have the right skills
Act on tasks quickly, don’t become the bottleneck.
General skills: Project Management, Time Management, Problem solving.
Technical expertise (e.g., technical judgment in Tech, selling in Sales, accounting in Finance).
Make sure the team also has the skills needed for the job:
– Coaching / Training / On-the-job Training.
– Hire for attitude and diversity, then train them up.
– Fire / help team move on to something that works best for their skills.
Links: Google’s project oxygen (boss), project Aristotle (teams)
Books: What got you here won’t get you there, High output management, Rework, It doesn’t have to be crazy at work, Work rules!, Deep work, Principles, The e-myth revisited, 4 disciplines of execution, The coaching habit, all books
Leo :) 