There is leadership in every team, even in self-managing teams. Leadership is needed to build trust, give direction, build relationships and set out a vision. But leadership can also have a negative effect. It can hinder team success and damage the positive atmosphere in a group. In this article, I tell you more about the positive influence that leadership can have on team performance.
Working in teams
Organisations are increasingly working in teams, because issues are becoming more and more complex and we believe that together you solve more in less time. It is no coincidence that 'team' is sometimes explained as 'Together Everyone Achieves More'. But working together doesn't automatically mean working better. So the question is also whether working together in a particular situation really increases results and engagement. The answer differs per organisation and depends, among other things, on how complex the work is.
Room for development
In an ideal team, there is enough room and freedom for team members to keep developing. Team members trust and respect each other and see different opinions as a good way to arrive at solutions together. Training and education bring not only more knowledge and expertise, but also more motivation and engagement.
Researchers Karin Derksen, Léon de Caluwé, Joyce Rupert and Robert-Jan Simons developed a questionnaire to measure the 'development space' of teams and gave it to 257 team members. The more development space a team created, the more satisfied the team members were with their results. Especially setting a point on the horizon together and entering into dialogue were strongly related to better results. Derksen et al.
A good leader creates room for every team member and encourages people to keep investing in themselves. Give your team members room to explore, to fail and to succeed. By exploring and learning, people develop, and see where their strengths and weaker points lie and where new interests lie.
Reflection and dialogue
Leaders who reflect a lot and start conversations contribute strongly to the team result. As with the previous point, it is about giving room and good communication. A good leader asks open questions and dares to be open themselves. Leaders who show vulnerability and engage in conversation are seen as more open and more trustworthy. Dialogue is also important for gauging opinions and growing together.
In practice, leaders don't always dare to be open. That has to do with the image we often have of leaders: businesslike, tenacious and closed. Yet an open attitude delivers a lot. Google studied 180 of its own teams and discovered that psychological safety is the most important factor for an effective team: the feeling that you can take risks in your team and show yourself. Google re:Work So as a manager, dare to ask, to evaluate and to explore.
Managing goals and expectations
Managing goals and expectations may well be a manager's most important task. Expectations are always linked to needs. Every employee has their own needs and expectations, and at the same time has to deal with those of the organisation. So managing expectations is really managing needs. As long as the relationship between employee and employer meets the needs of both, it remains a good relationship.
Clear goals and expectations create clarity, structure and real cooperation. Research by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham shows that specific, challenging goals lead to better performance than vague goals such as 'do your best'. Locke & Latham So ask yourself whether every team member is aware of their own needs and expectations and those of the organisation. Are we on the same page?
As a manager, you can have a positive influence on team performance by discussing this with your team members. State the expectations together, ask clear and open questions and listen to everyone's opinion.
Your influence
Giving team members room, making room for dialogue and reflection, and managing goals and expectations: those are important ways in which you as a manager influence team performance. Which of these are you already doing well? And what could you start on tomorrow?
Also read what makes a successful team? and engaging leadership.
