The Secret Sauce To Your Team's Success

What distinguishes great teams from good teams?

It’s a similar distinction to the one between a manager and a leader. A good team does what it was created for. A great team wants to be there, is engaged and proactive, and will creatively find new ways to go above and beyond the objectives set in its remit.   

As a leader, you are in a unique position to create the right environment where your team feels empowered to take ownership of their work and contribute to the success of the whole organisation. 

One key element of this is fostering a sense of agency within your team, which is the belief that individuals can influence events and have control over their life & work. When your team members feel empowered and motivated to take ownership of their work, they are more likely to be engaged, committed, creative and productive.

In short, a sense of agency is what takes them from good to great.  

What can you do to increase a sense of agency in your team? Here are four top tips to help you:

1. Set Clear Expectations & Feedback Mechanisms

Clarity is critical when it comes to empowering your team members. You’d be surprised how often what you consider (implicitly) obvious, actually needs to be made explicit. Your team members are diverse human beings with different priorities, values and thinking patterns. Naturally, this paves a way for differences of focus and urgency. 

Make sure that everyone understands their individual roles and responsibilities, as well as the goals of the team. Have these in writing and re-visit to amend regularly. When expectations are clear, team members are more likely to take ownership of their work and feel motivated to meet, or even exceed expectations. 

Provide regular feedback to your team members so that they know how they are performing.This will help them feel in control of their work and enable them to make better decisions. Regular feedback can help team members develop a better understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement, which can in turn increase their sense of agency. Create opportunities for them to provide their own feedback regarding your leadership and their needs; this will foster both agency and trust.  

2. Build Trust & Collaboration

Trust is a crucial component of creating a sense of agency, collaboration and team cohesiveness. When team members trust each other and their leader, they are more likely to feel comfortable taking risks and making decisions. Build trust by being transparent and open with your team, following through on commitments, and being accountable for your actions. 

Be willing to admit to your mistakes and be supportive if others make them. When you give yourself and others permission to not know and to be vulnerable, it paves a path for a more authentic connection between you and other team members. Agency is a natural by-product of trust; we can only take full ownership of our actions when we are in a supportive, trustworthy environment. 

Trust is also fostered by collaboration. Encourage collaboration by creating opportunities for team members to work together and share their expertise. When team members collaborate on projects and share ideas, they are more likely to feel that their contributions are valued and that they have agency within the team.

3. Encourage Autonomy:  Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!

Encourage your team members to take ownership of their work and give them opportunities to make decisions and take risks. Provide them with the resources and support they need to succeed, but also allow them to take the lead and make their own choices. This means delegating, even if you think you could do this yourself more efficiently or effectively. Remember there are many ways to scale the mountain (or skin the poor cat!).  

Micro-managing and hand-holding are your worst enemies  when it comes to effective leadership and team agency. This is particularly the case for business owner running an #SME and looking to expand, but also applies to running divisions of larger organisations. 

In order to foster sustainable agency in teams, you will need to strike a delicate balance between support and autonomy. On the one hand, your team members need to feel safe to experiment, take risks and innovate. On the other hand, if they don’t take their tasks seriously and blatantly disregard a project of importance, they will need to be held to account, without you stepping in to save the day. Seeing your team members trip up can be profoundly uncomfortable; however, entering as a hero on a white horse to resolve every burning problem will actively diminish your team’s ownership. 

4. Celebrate Successes In A Meaningful Way

We so often focus on problem-solving and the goals ahead, that yesterday’s achievements quickly become old news. This can be discouraging for your team who may feel that what they accomplished doesn’t matter in view of ever-increasing future targets. 

Recognising and celebrating successes can help team members feel a sense of agency and ownership over their work. Make sure to recognise the contributions of each team member and the team as a whole.

When you celebrate successes, be sure to check first: how people would like to be celebrated, what will actually be meaningful for them?

Focusing on what's already going well, recognising team's successes and pausing to reflect on what has been achieved will create a positive atmosphere, foster resilience and promote individual and team agency. This is a powerful opportunity for people to feel the impact of their contribution not just to you and the team, but to the whole organisation.

You're likely to be doing some of these already, but are you doing them all with regular processes in place?

What could you do differently and how could your team benefit?

How will this affect the impact of your leadership?

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If you’re looking to become more fulfilled and successful as a business leader, we can discuss what's possible for you on a complimentary clarity call. Message me on LinkedIn or email: nataliamank@yahoo.com.

Here is what one of my clients, Mark, said about private executive coaching with me recently:

''Natalia has been a game-changer for my busy business life and personal well-being. I was functioning with a fog in my brain - too many plates on the spin and not enough structure in my schedule. But with Natalia's coaching, I gained the discipline and coping mechanisms to take control of challenging work situation, establish my work-life balance and create a happier, healthier life-style.

Her empathetic approach and guidance are invaluable. Natalia always made me feel at ease - even during difficult discussions. Through our coaching sessions, I learned to reframe my shortcomings and turn them into opportunities for growth and success. This has completely changed the outcome! ''

Mark Patterson

Founder & Group CEO

Patterson Digital, MedTech industry

Let me know if you have any questions - coaching, leadership or agency-related. I would love to hear from you.