Creating Alignment: Smart Team Building Strategies

40 percent of the people who take on a new role as a leader in their organization, fail in their first 18 months in their new position.

Why do think nearly half of all new leaders fail in that first year and a half?

Strategy is just one factor that impacts the overall success of a team.

Good leaders start with a plan in mind, then reevaluate as the strategy and the best course of action reveal themselves.

Great Leaders Don't Need a Great Plan. . .

. . . but successful leaders need a plan.

The first element of building a great team is putting a plan and strategy together about how you are going to build your team.

• Find the Right People
Target "A" Players. Whether you're in a leadership role now or you soon will be, it's important to have your eyes peeled to be aware of key players you'd like to have on your team. Having good situational awareness is key to becoming a great leader. Get to know people. Build relationships.

Real "A" players will be good centers of influence. Remember, like attracts like, so it's important for you to spend the time establishing relationships with influential people, like yourself, before you begin building your team.

• Find the Right Cause
Develop Your Shared Purpose. Every great team has a burning imperative, driving it forward and providing asense of shared purpose. Starting with the right, like-minded, people infusing your team building strategies with shared purpose is not at odds with the team's personality or overall character.
• Position Your Team For Success

By modeling the team building strategies necessary for success, the entire process becomes transformative both for the leaders and the led.

Focusing on finding a common ground that connects the people on your team, gives a strong strategic foothold and builds a stronger foundation which allows people to work together more effectively.

Simplicity As Strategy

As a leader it's your job to influence others to do theirs. . .

. . . that's really what leadership is. One person's ability to influence other people's thoughts and actions.

Language then becomes the tool which allows you to express your ideas and influence others to buy into the "shared purpose" of the team. Modeling the way you speak then becomes the most powerful of the team building strategies that you can use.

Clear language provides clarity, people can derive meaning from clarity, and meaning encourages belief. This is how you can begin building a learning organization.

Peter Senge goes into great detail about why you want to build a learning organization. Communication is the crux of all team building strategies, and key to developing an effective team.

People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. It stands to reason that as long as alignment is accounted for, the smarter team you build the more effectively you will see results of your labors.