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Team Leadership12-Sep-2010

Q - I lead a team of 7 executives, and two of them don't get along at all.  Their behavior is disrupting the team, and causing us to be less than optimally effective.  I've talked to them about getting along better, but it hasn't helped.  Any advice?

A - This is a common issue for team leaders.  What you need to do is clearly and firmly state your expectations and your intentions.  First, you expect them to respect one another and get along - tell them that you don't expect them to be best friends, and they don't even have to like each other, per se - but they must take their level of collaboration and support to higher levels, or else.  The "or else" represents your intentions... if they can't get along and make this relationship work, you intend to make a change - either by getting rid of one or both of them.  Give them a timeframe - if you don't see significant improvement in their joint behavior in 30 days, you're going to end this nonsense by taking action. 

Team Leadership04-Apr-2010

Q – I’ve just taken a new job and will be leading a group of ten people. The largest team I’ve ever had was three people; what advice do you have for managing this large of a team?

A – Ten direct reports is a lot; more than I’d normally recommend. That said, you need to get to know each direct report personally, in order to assess their capabilities. You need to form your own opinion of each person’s character, skills, experience, work ethic, etc. Meet with them individually in a series of 1:1’s over the first 30-45 days, and be purposeful in these meetings; work from a list of specific questions (this will help you remain unbiased), and determine who’s really talented, who’s merely good, and who might be lacking the skills you need. You may end up keeping all of them as direct reports (given the context of your role), but chances are you’ll find that a handful (5-6) of the best players are well suited to be on your immediate team, with the rest folding in under them (thereby creating supervisory opportunities for your high potential people).