Build a Team before a House

There is a very famous proverb – behind a successful man is a woman but who is behind a successful leader, yes… of course a team. It is a team who make a manager hero or zero so before entering into a venture have your team in right place.

Get convinced yourself with the law - “Teamwork leads to success”, before convincing others. First of all a manager must have firm conviction that teamwork will work wonders. “ If your team members have forgotten remind them the following story:

A flock of hungry pigeons were flying across the sky in search of food. Having traveled a long distance, they felt tired and settled down on a tree. Just below the tree, they saw grains strewn all over the ground. The pigeons were happy to have found enough food to eat. All the pigeons came down from the tree and started eating the grains. As they were doing so, a huge net fell on them and trapped them all.

The pigeons were taken back. They noticed a hunter sitting at a distance from the tree, a bow and arrow in hand. The pigeons realized that it was the hunter who had attracted them by strewing the grains and it was he who had trapped them in the net. The hunter got up and began to move towards the pigeons.

The leader of the pigeons spoke “Friends, we are in great trouble. The hunter will catch us if we do not act swiftly in a few seconds. There is only one option available at this moment. Let all of us use our force together and fly up along with the net. If all of us use our force and fly together, we can fly carrying the net along with us. Let us start now.” All the pigeons agreed with him and flew high, carrying the net along with them. After traveling sufficient distance away from the hunter, the pigeons settled on a tree and carefully came out of the net, one by one, and thus escaped the evil design of the hunter.

Every leader tries to make a team and many of them do fail also. They do fail because they fail to understand difference between a group of people and a team. A group is a mere collection of persons. It becomes a team when its members have a common goal. It is the common goal that links the members of the team. So, the leader has to set the goal and communicate the objective of the goal.

Next task is to select the right people. If all are Sachin Tendulkars in the team India will still not win the match as they can pile up runs but who will take wickets of the opponents? So there should be Zaheers and Kumbles too. In a team, all the members use their own strength to balance each other’s weaknesses. Team building requires lot of care in choosing people who will work in tandem and support each other.

The toughest jobs can be completed with great ease if each individual in a team works to the best of one’s capability in coordination with the other team members. The focus should be on the progress of the whole team and not just individual growth. Team building is a continuous process more balanced and objective driven a team is more successful the leader is.

Now decide what a manager should do first make a good comfortable office or …. ?