Building Effective Teams
Teams are most effective when working toward a shared vision and when each team member has a clearly defined role and assignment to help achieve set goals. Effective teams work well together and improve in their communication and collaboration over time. Leadership at Classical is developed to improve efficiency of our systems and to promote an inclusive and collaborative team culture.
Dr. Cassaberry-Furby, our Director of Business, reflects on what makes Classical’s Business team effective. All team members are knowledgeable about their specific roles and assignments and, when necessary, they are adequately trained to absorb new responsibilities. Team members are clear on their job description and the functions of the work they do within the team and, over time, have developed areas of expertise. For Dr. Cassaberry-Furby, developing your people is key. It is particularly important for her to see women empowered to do well and to excel in their positions. Managers should evaluate their staff through the lens of development, thinking “What work can they do best to contribute to our team?”
In addition to prioritizing training and strengthening her team’s skillsets, it was equally important to build efficiency on the team. One way she has done this is by reducing the frequency of required meetings. She reevaluated whether all team members served a purpose in each meeting depending on their specific role and, if not, did not require their attendance. Daily full-team meetings shifted to weekly meetings to help reduce redundancy and maximize efficiency for team members to complete their required tasks.
Through all this work, it is essential that staff receive constructive, and supportive, feedback – with the right frequency and modes. Dr. Cassaberry-Furby creates space for 1 on 1 meetings with her team each week in which she provides feedback, when necessary, or answers questions her staff may have. She shares that, before providing feedback, it was most important to spend time learning what makes each person ‘tick’. Managers must figure out the best approach to working with their own team and providing feedback. Some people need more guidance, others want autonomy; some people thrive with praise, others could take it or leave it. Managers might find certain staff struggle to receive constructive feedback and they might need to think a bit more deeply about the right time, place, and tone to take when delivering it. Feedback should never be omitted, as that would be doing the individual and the team a disservice; however, delivery is vital to ensuring it is well received. If you recognize that a team member struggles with feedback, be attuned to it and ask how you can support instead of waiting for them to ask for help; they might not ask or persevere through the work otherwise. Be patient, tolerant, and willing to maneuver your approach to best support and develop your unique team.
Dr. Cassaberry-Furby offers another bit of advice for leadership, especially those who are navigating remote or hybrid work settings: trust your team! Once you get to know your team and can trust their outcomes, based on whether deadlines are met, the general quality of their work output, and vendor or stakeholder satisfaction, you can learn to loosen the reigns and let them work at their own pace to get the job done.
To learn more about how Classical Consulting can support your work in building and developing teams, contact us today!