| Join Our Mailing
List here for monthly
team tools and best
practices |
|
|
Is your
team in white water? It might be time to regroup.
"Ruth's
team sessions are great. Each member of
our team explained their key concerns from their
functional perspective and then we thought through
how to deal with each of these potential obstacles
in advance ---we were really prepared for the
bumps in the road that we faced later."
Sr. Team
Leader, Fortune 100 Pharma
company |
|
Clarity has received national
certification as a Women's Business
Enterprise by the Women's Business
Enterprise National Council
(WBENC). By
including women-owned businesses among their
vendors, corporations, and government agencies
demonstrate their commitment to fostering
diversity and the continued development of their
supplier/vendor diversity
programs. |
|
Meet
Ruth at the PMI Conference in Philadelphia
Tuesday
March 16th
1:30 -
3:00
|
"Accelerating the Work of Pharma Teams:
Making Good Teams
Better"
Clarity is a part of the
inaugural Project Management Institute
(PMI) PharmaSIG conference,
"Innovative Project Management to Succeed
in the Dynamic Biopharmaceutical
Environment," taking place Mar 15-17 at:
The
Westin Philadelphia
99 South 17th
Street
| |
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the March
edition of Clarity's Making Good Teams
Better, by Ruth Dubinsky. Each
month you can expect practical, actionable
advice to help bring out the best in your
team. You'll get no kumbuya, or fluff
about "playing nice in the sandbox" - just
practical tips that go right to the bottom line
- and accelerate your team's progress
toward business
goals. |
| Navigating
Through Troubled
Water |
 The ability to lead a team
through turbulent water is a highly marketable
skill.
While there's no guaranteed path that works
every time for every team, I've observed a
number of approaches that are shared by the most
successful teams and their leaders.
They start
with a structured team kick-off
meeting. The best performing
teams resist the urge to dive in and start
working right away. They invest time
at the beginning of their journey to ensure
clarity of direction, roles, goals, boundaries,
expectations and assumptions. Many
teams shortchange this meeting
- and it costs
them time downstream. This is a
very high leverage team activity - with huge
returns. If you've
not done this before, get help - find an
internal facilitator, or consider involving
me. Set up your team for success early on
with a meaningful, structured team
launch.
They
set some clear rules of
behavior. The team members discuss what they
need from each other to reach their collective
team goals. "Code of Conduct", "Team Norms",
"Operating Agreements" ...don't get hung up on
labels, these are all first cousins. The best
teams set both operational norms (We'll meet
each Tuesday at 10:00 EST"), and behavioral
norms ("We won't settle disputes over email -
we'll call each other directly")
It's never too late to
establish teams norms - make sure your team
agrees on how they want to work together.
Click here for examples of team
norms
They set, integrate and track
team goals. They establish a limited set of goals,
timelines and milestones that every team member
understands, buys into, and is accountable for.
They
integrate team goals into their individual
goals, and involve their direct line manager in
that discussion. They keep
their team goals at the forefront - and are
disciplined about tracking their progress. Make sure
each team member, and his/her manager buys into
the collective team goals.
They
give themselves the time it takes to learn about
each other. The best performing teams know
each other quite well - they understand
that familiarity helps with overall team
functioning. When they know each other
well, they can better understand each
other's point of view. Don't
make the mistake that "getting to know you"
activities are a waste of
time. Invest time helping your team
members get to know each other, as soon, and as
often as possible.
They celebrate
successes. The best teams I've worked with
exploit the power of positive recognition at
every opportunity. "Thank you" goes a long way.
They know their team is working hard, and
they know how meaningful it is to keep people
encouraged, even when times are tough.
Never let an opportunity pass to
say thank you, or to acknowledge team
successes.
They have an urgent purpose.
All team members need to believe
that their efforts have a worthwhile and
meaningful purpose. They have a written and
explicit reason for being. They know where they
are headed, and why. Now and
then, "stop the action" and have the team
remember what they are in this for. Write it
down, and
discuss. |
| More About
Clarity |
|
After over 30
years in the pharmaceutical R&D industry
with one of the most respected organizations in
the world, I now enjoy a rich and rewarding
consulting practice, exclusively with the
technical professionals I know so well. As
a former bench scientist, clinical reseacher and
pharmaceutical drug developer, I speak the
language of R&D, and understand quite well
the challenges of matrix teams. I've
helped companies build team environments
from the ground up. My clients tell me this sets
me apart from other consultants.
Simply put, Clarity helps companies meet
their objectives faster by speeding up
cooperation and team
functioning.
Till next time,
all the best
| | |
