Teamwork – Part IV
Picking the right team members is an important skill for leadership. Last week we looked at the priority of selection.
This week we emphasize the dual emphasis of building a team with members who have a variety of skills but who share a unified commitment to the mission of the organization.
It is important for each of us in leadership to build a team that has a variety of the skills that will accomplish the objectives of the organization. In a business, for instance, we need both sales skills and administrative abilities; the two of which are usually not in the same exact gift range.
So we need to establish a team where members have individual skills that are different and yet which collectively meet the needs of the organization.
That said, regardless of the variety of skills on the team, there can be no variety as to the commitment to the mission of the organization. Each person, regardless of their varied ability and/or training, must share an equal and common commitment to the mission of the enterprise. Variety must be limited to skills, not mission commitment.
This simple truth is often overlooked. Sometimes, especially where we are under pressure to build a team, our thinking can sound like this, “We really need that person’s skill-set, and, besides, they are so talented.”
If we go down that path, we may as well just get out the bugle and play “Taps.”
That dog won’t hunt.
That approach is DOA: Dead On Arrival.
As those in leadership we know that it is challenging enough to organize and lead the appropriate gift-mix among people with different skills. Disagreement as to the objective – the mission – is a deal-breaker.
Our strategy must remain: Unity on mission; variety and great freedom regarding gifts and skills.
Does your experience confirm this? Are there exceptions to this principle? Let us know by email and we will continue to learn together
