2 September 2007
Successful Intentions Newsletter
Hi ,
Leading a team is like flying an aeroplane, and you're the pilot!
The trick to keeping the team flying is to balance competing forces:
- Just like a wing the group has to be the right aerodynamic shape in the first place otherwise you'll never generate enough lift.
- Motivated task activity provides the thrust to move forward. When you lose thrust you lose altitude!
- When the team is really "flying" you'll notice a sense of effortless flow. You seem to have the right people with the right skills to meet the best opportunities. It's this generation of low air pressure across the wing that causes lift.
- You can move the control surfaces of the wing to achieve stable flight. This is delegating effectively, allocating resources where they're most needed, and assigning roles and responsibilities.
- But there's always an element of drag or resistance in the group. Someone's got their flaps out or their spoilers raised! You have to limit drag or you'll take too long to reach the destination.
- Too much drag creates turbulence - an area of high air pressure under the wing hidden from view. Unchecked turbulence can cause a catastrophic loss of lift and the whole team can quite suddenly fall out of the sky!
- Achieving task outcomes is like flying up to your expected flight level. It takes continuous thrust and lift to gain altitude. If you don't push the team enough you'll stay in cruise. Bu if you push them too much for too long - if you raise the angle of attack of the wing too far - you risk stalling and losing aerodynamic control!
- Of course you must be mindful of where you can fly and where there are "no go zones" in the organization. If you don't maintain your assigned flight level you risk colliding with other teams and causing widespread "traffic control" problems!
- And then you are always at the mercy of the prevailing weather conditions, the various business cycles and unforeseen "air pockets" of commercial relationships and financial markets. Learning to read the skies ahead can help you fly around stormy weather and avoid losing too much altitude.
So , are you part of an "aerodynamic team" or do you feel like you're flying around in circles and getting nowhere? You can restore "team aerodynamics" through a half-day Strategic Team Development Workshop where you and your team analyze feedback from the Strategic Team Development ProfileŽ and collectively decide how to fly straight.
Keep your intentions clear,
Peter Webb
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